'I'm going to be ruthless': Nigel Farage vows to clean up Reform's image post election

Nigel Farage told ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton that he would be 'ruthless' in cleaning the image of Reform up.

Nigel Farage has pledged to clean up Reform's image after his party managed to shake up the Westminster scene and gain more MPs at the General Election.

The Reform leader was among four candidates in the party - including Lee Anderson and Richard Tice - to win their respective seats.

Despite the gains, Reform's campaign was dogged by allegations of racism and homophobia against several of its candidates and party members.

Speaking to ITV News, Farage said he would be "ruthless" in turning Reform into a party that is not sectarian or racially based "in any way at all".

He said: "Let me be clear, from today there is no candidates list, they're all off.

"We're going to start again from scratch. We're going to reiterate the things that we have always believed in, that I don't want us to be a sectarian or racially based party in any way at all.

"I'm going to be absolutely ruthless about it."

Former US President Donald Trump congratulated Nigel Farage on Reform UK's results on his social media site Truth social

Farage was also questioned about George Jones - an activist who was filmed in an undercover Channel 4 documentary describing the Pride flag as "degenerate".

Reform confirmed after the documentary aired that Mr Jones had volunteered for Reform, but that he stepped away from campaigning as the election neared.

But on Thursday evening, Mr Jones was spotted at a party hosted by Farage, something which the Reform leader described as an "activist's booze up".

Watch Farage's response when asked about former Reform activist George Jones

Pressed on whether Mr Jones was back in Reform, Farage said: "No."

He added: "I'm not a great believer in cancelling people. I'm not a great believer in banning.

"You know, what he did was a terrible mistake. It was wrong. But you know what, was I gonna go and throw him out of the room when he's there? With a group of people that he'd worked with for weeks?

"No."

Farage also said that he would work with other parties to push for a change to the British electoral system that would see proportional representation introduced over the current first-past-the-post method.

Farage said he would work with other parties to push for electoral reform in the UK

He said: "Given that now modern politics is much more complex, different.

"You know, the greens, different parties, different issues.

"And there is I tell you what, the campaign, the momentum for electoral reform is gonna be very real over the course of the next few years.

"And it's worth noting the last Labour Party conference voted for this."

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