Farage and Truss Lunch with Climate-Denying Thinktank Raises Questions for Reform UK
A discreet lunch between Nigel Farage and Liz Truss at an exclusive Mayfair club on Monday has ignited speculation about the future direction of the UK’s political right, and raised uncomfortable questions for the Reform Party. The gathering,organized by the US-based Heartland Institute – a thinktank known for its climate change denial – underscores a growing alignment between key figures on the fringes of British politics.
The meeting came to light after Lois Perry, a former leader of the far-right Ukip party and now Europe director of the Heartland Institute, posted photographs on X (formerly Twitter) of Farage addressing attendees, including Truss. The images were subsequently deleted.
While Reform UK has publicly distanced itself from Perry, she shares close ties with many of the same individuals, including prominent backers of Reform UK.
The Heartland Institute, the catalyst for the meeting, has a history of promoting controversial and scientifically inaccurate views on climate change. The association has previously drawn comparisons between those who believe in global heating and the unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, a domestic terrorist responsible for multiple deaths and injuries in the United States.
The lunch also drew a diverse group of figures associated with the British right. Historian David Starkey, who faced professional repercussions in 2020 following racist remarks, has become a regular guest at Reform UK’s annual conferences. Broadcaster Mike Graham, previously dismissed from Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV due to a failure to cooperate with an examination into a racist social media post, was also present. Other attendees included Alan Mendoza, a founder and executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, and Lance Forman, a smoked salmon entrepreneur and former Brexit Party MEP who financially supported Truss’s leadership campaign.
Forman confirmed the primary topic of conversation was climate change, stating that Truss appeared unconcerned by recent criticism from Jenrick regarding her mini-budget. “She was not upset at all,” Forman told The Guardian,describing Truss as “very cheerful and robust.” He dismissed Jenrick’s critique as “ridiculous,” noting that Farage had previously praised Truss’s economic policies. The meal itself was described as an “unmemorable” set menu, culminating in a chocolate mousse.
The Labour Party swiftly condemned the gathering, with a spokesperson asserting that Farage is “hellbent on reassembling Boris Johnson’s cabinet of failed Tories who broke our public services and hammered family finances.” They further highlighted the irony of Jenrick’s call for Truss’s expulsion from the Conservative Party coinciding with Farage’s lavish lunch with her.
Attendees reported that hard copies outlining the Heartland Institute’s positions were circulated during the meal, and that Farage delivered a brief speech endorsing the institute’s ideas. One diner suggested that “it’s likely that some of the things they are calling for will end up in a Reform program for government.”
Mark’s Club, the venue for the meeting, has undergone a recent and somewhat ostentatious renovation, featuring “chintzy furnishings, gigantic oil paintings of dogs and brightly patterned wallpaper.” Membership currently costs £2,750 annually, plus a £1,250 joining fee. While once considered a bastion of the traditional Tory right, it has evolved into a “new money establishment” with a less exclusive membership. The traditional home of the Conservative right is now considered to be 5 Hertford Street.
Perry, increasingly influential on the British new right, also recently participated in a “Davos choice” event in Zurich, organized by the Heartland Institute, where Truss delivered a keynote speech on “a vision for the UK and the democratic west.” This lunch was not the first collaboration between Perry, Truss, and Farage, all of whom previously attended the launch of the Heartland institute’s UK chapter at Brooks’s, a private members club that historically excluded women.
the gathering underscores the complex and evolving relationships within the British political landscape, and raises critical questions about the potential influence of climate-denying ideologies on the future direction of Reform UK and the broader conservative movement.
