Daniel Pocock tried to force Reform UK into liquidation and lost. At a High Court hearing in London on Monday, Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs said any reasonable observer would take Nigel Farage's promise to fund the by-election as a commitment to cover bills falling on the public purse, not the outlays of other candidates.
Briggs said Pocock had taken a risky route to chase money from the party and concluded, "That high-risk strategy has backfired." He added that it is standard for an unsuccessful petitioner to meet the respondent's costs, setting them at £37,000 plus VAT. No representative for Pocock attended the hearing.
Pocock said Reform owed him £5,009.21 for campaign spending, claiming Farage's offer to pay for running the contest meant the party must reimburse candidates. After getting no reply, he filed a winding-up petition and cited changes to overseas donor rules as raising "serious questions about whether the debtor is currently solvent."
Reform's legal team countered that Farage's offer clearly related to expenses that would otherwise be paid by taxpayers. Adam Richardson, for Reform, said Pocock made "improper use" of insolvency procedures to "bear down" on the party and inflate its legal costs, potentially for political reasons, by sending a high volume of messages and refusing to provide his address when asked.
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Following the ruling, Pocock, an Australian-born software developer, emailed Bloomberg in a way that implied he would not pay the costs order. "After the sight of masked men at British ports and a sacked former home secretary using social media to vilify volunteer lifeboat crews, I don't feel any Australian could give money to Reform UK without violating Australian laws that prohibit Australian citizens from resourcing insurrections abroad," he wrote, referring to recent events. He was alluding to recent demonstrations against immigration that were put together by right-wing groups in the UK.
Reform has not been directly involved in those protests, and Farage has condemned violent behavior at some of them, although several of the party's local councilors have appeared in Facebook groups tied to organizers. The party declined to comment on the court outcome.
Farage triggered the Clacton by-election after press revelations about Reform's funding. He said he would rather have voters deliver their verdict than Parliament's standards commissioner, who has opened an inquiry into an undeclared £5 million sum that he received from a party donor prior to his return to politics in 2024. Farage was reelected, while Pocock took 16 votes.
Here is what is on the table: a costs award of £37,000 plus VAT in Reform's favor, an unsuccessful winding-up bid by an opponent, and an active standards inquiry into a £5 million donor payment related to Farage. For investors tracking UK political headlines, the legal setback for the petitioner and the ongoing donations scrutiny keep Reform in the news cycle.
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