Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has cancelled a scheduled high-profile television appearance on the BBC's flagship Sunday politics programme, with his party stating he is feeling unwell.
Last-Minute Change for Sunday Politics Show
The Reform chief was due to appear on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 18 January 2026, just days after publicly celebrating the defection of Conservative MP Robert Jenrick to his party's ranks. In a last-minute switch, the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, was sent to represent Reform UK on the show instead.
Presenting the programme, Laura Kuenssberg informed viewers: "We were expecting Nigel Farage to join us this week before Reform tells us he's under the weather. So the deputy leader of Reform, Richard Tice, set his alarm early at the last minute."
Cabinet Minister's Strong Criticism of Farage and Reform
The cancellation coincided with pointed criticism from a senior government minister. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy appeared on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, where she was questioned about reports she had warned colleagues of a potential "fascist" government under Nigel Farage.
While refusing to disclose confidential Cabinet discussions, Nandy delivered a stark assessment of Reform UK and its leader. "I come from a mixed race background. I've seen this playbook before where people try to scapegoat and demonise other people," she stated.
She directly challenged the party's narrative, arguing: "The truth is that it's not migrants, in the end, it's not people with different coloured skin who are responsible for the problems that this country has. It's one group of people and one group of people alone, and they're the people that he's welcoming with open arms to his own party."
Duck' Analogy Highlights Deep Concerns
When pressed on whether she would use the term "fascist" to describe a potential government led by Farage, Nandy suggested labels were less important than recognising patterns of behaviour. "I'm not sure that labels are particularly helpful," she said, before adding: "Well, I've got a lot of experience of living with the consequences of othering and people who are trying to divide us from one another."
She concluded with a pointed analogy: "And I guess I would just say that if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, in my experience, it usually is a duck."
The events underscore the heightened political tensions surrounding Reform UK following the high-profile defection of Robert Jenrick, and the increasingly sharp language being used by mainstream politicians to describe the party's platform and rhetoric.
