Farage says UK election could come ‘sooner than you think’, names Danny Kruger to lead Reform’s preparing-for-government unit

Nigel Farage said a UK general election could come earlier than expected and that his party is preparing to govern immediately, naming defecting MP Danny Kruger to head a new “Preparing for Government Unit.” Farage set out the plans in a column published in the Daily Mail on 16 September 2025, saying Reform UK must show voters it can deliver from day one.

Farage described the Labour government as in "meltdown" and said the Conservative Party was no longer a credible alternative, arguing that Reform had become the main opposition. He pointed to what he described as Reform's strong polling and local election performance, and said the party had more than 4 million votes in last year’s general election.

Farage announced that Kruger, whom he described as Reform's "newest MP," would lead the unit alongside the party's head of policy, Zia Yusuf. In the column, Farage said the unit's purpose is to prepare concrete plans for governing and to overcome what he called institutional obstacles in Whitehall, the House of Lords, the media and academia.

Kruger is the first sitting Conservative MP to join Reform UK in this parliament. When his defection was reported, the BBC suggested the move might reflect Conservatives seeking refuge in what it called "any port in a storm." Farage rejected that characterisation in his piece, saying he set two conditions for any further defections: prospective MPs must share Reform's political principles and add value to the party rather than joining for personal survival.

Farage outlined the policy areas where he said Reform had made gains with voters, including law and order, illegal immigration and free speech. He said the party had topped over 100 national opinion polls in a row and cited wins in the English local elections as evidence of momentum. He also predicted gains in next year’s elections to the Senedd in Wales and in Scotland, assertions presented as party forecasts in the column.

Acknowledging Reform's lack of governing experience in Westminster and Whitehall, Farage said the unit would draw on expertise from within the civil service, the military and the courts, and invited input from those working in the system. He framed the effort as necessary to present a practicable vision for the country and to address what he characterised as the damage of a "rudderless government."

The announcement comes amid continued debate across Westminster about the timing of a general election. Under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act repeal and other arrangements, a prime minister can ask the monarch to dissolve Parliament, but precise timing is a matter of political calculation. Farage urged supporters to trust Reform UK to form a "radical government" capable of carrying out the party's agenda if given a mandate.

Neither the Labour Party nor the Conservative Party provided immediate responses to Farage's column. Reform UK has said the new unit will begin work immediately; details about its membership, budget and formal remit were not disclosed in the column. Farage's wider claims about polling and electoral prospects reflect the party's public messaging as it seeks to convert recent electoral and opinion poll performance into formal policy programmes ahead of any national vote.