Nigel Farage is gunning to scrap working from home as Reform UK goes all-in for the crucial May elections. The party leader declared war on remote work during a rally packed with 2,000 supporters in Birmingham on Sunday.
Farage vowed to unveil his shadow cabinet this week and hinted that a general election could come sooner than expected. “We’re ready to win,” he told the crowd, signalling Reform’s serious election ambition.
Farage Slams Remote Work, Calls for Return to Hard Graft
Remote working took a right hammering from Farage, who called claims of higher productivity from home workers “a load of nonsense.” Instead, he said, people work better face-to-face in the office.
“People aren’t more productive working at home – it’s a load of nonsense. They’re more productive being with other fellow human beings and working as part of a team,” Farage said.
He went further, attacking workplace attitudes: “You can’t go on the sick because you’ve got mild anxiety. But it is an attitudinal change that Britain needs. An attitudinal change to hard work, rather than work-life balance.”
Farage had already pledged to end work-from-home culture in Reform-run councils, warning staff: “You either work from the office, or you’re gone.”
Remote Work Soars But Farage Stands Firm
Despite Farage’s stance, official figures show remote work is here to stay. UK Office for National Statistics data reveals the number of home workers more than doubled during the pandemic, jumping from 4.7 million in 2019 to 9.9 million in 2022.
By early 2025, 28% of UK workers were on hybrid contracts,s and 13% worked fully remotely.
Farage Demands Starmer’s Head as Reform Preps for Battle
The Birmingham rally wasn’t just about work culture. Farage ramped up pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to quit over the Lord Mandelson US ambassador row.
“Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s calls for Starmer to resign mean Labour can’t even fight effectively in Scotland,” Farage claimed.
As the rally wrapped up, all Reform MPs joined Farage on stage, tossing branded shirts into the crowd and welcoming new recruits. “We’ve got the right people now,” the leader declared.
This week’s shadow cabinet reveal will be the first peek at how Farage plans to run a Reform government. It will show priorities and who’s clinched top posts.
Can Reform Capitalise on the May 7 Elections?
The upcoming local polls will test Reform’s muscle and voter pull across the UK. Farage’s confident talk of an early general election underlines the party’s belief in its rising poll numbers.
With Britain divided over home working and hard work, Farage is gambling big that his old-school message will strike a chord at the ballot box.
