Egad! Uproar in clubland. The reason? Nigel Farage. Yes, it seems that the veteran Brexiteer is still capable of causing a fuss among t’great and t’good – even when he is pledging to, er, lift the two child benefit cap. The Reform UK leader gave a big speech on Tuesday in Whitehall, talking about his party’s plans for welfare reform. His choice of venue was the Royal Horseguards Hotel – the construction of which, in the 1880s, involved an elaborate pyramid scheme of fraud. Insert your own jokes here….
Unfortunately, the hotel’s site also encompasses the National Liberal Club, the haunt of choice for that rarest of all breeds: senior Liberal Democrats. The likes of Nick Clegg and Tim Farron have made speeches here while Charles Kennedy’s infamous Newsnight interview was filmed in the club smoking room. At least 25 MPs have snaffled free memberships since the last election too. And it seems that the right-on Lib Dems are not too happy at lengthy journalistic reports linking Farage to their beloved watering hole.
Such is the level of anger that NLC bosses have been forced to write to puce-faced Orange bookers, assuring them that the Farage press conference did not actually take place within the club. In an email sent to members in the aftermath of the event, the club says that:
The Reform UK political party held a press conference on 27 May 2025 at the Horse Guards Hotel, which we were fully aware of in advance and we implemented plans that ensured participants attending did not have access to any of the National Liberal Club areas. We wish to clarify for Members that the press conference was not held within the National Liberal Club. The space used was fully under the control of the Horse Guards Hotel, and there is no connection between the National Liberal Club and the Reform UK press conference or its content. As Members will be aware, while the National Libera Club and the Horse Guards Hotel share certain areas within the building, guests and press attending the Reform UK event did not have access to the Club’s private facilities.
Liberalism at its finest…
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