Farage’s Wild Week: Energy bill stunts and questionable Cameo videos
episodePreviously titled “Farage’s Wild Week: energy bill stunts and questionable cameo videos” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 4, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, this is Pod Save the UK. I'm Nish Kumar. And I'm Coco Card. Reform is on the money this week, and not in a good way. Whether it's energy bills, lotteries, Richard Tice avoiding a big tax bill, or Nigel Farage pretty much saying anything for cash on Cameo.
What controversial energy bill stunt is Reform UK promoting?
Plus, we're joined by the authors of a new book, which looks at the billionaire man-baby, Elon Musk, in a whole new way. And what with wars in Iran and Ukraine, Keir Starmer was already having a busy week. And then Angela Rayner popped up at a soft labour event. That's right, she's back and she's got opinions. Anne McElvoy from Politico will be with us to work out what Angela's got planned. Are you worried that your energy bills are about to soar because of the war in the Middle East? Don't worry, Nigel Farage has got you. Just head over to www.nigelcutmybills.com. And if you give us your details on that website... In the next week or two, we're going to draw one of those names and Nigel is going to come to your house and he's going to pay your energy bills
and those of everyone who live on your street for an entire year. Sorry, I'm just having visions of Nigel Farage knocking at my door. What? It's a nightmare. I'd rather paint my streets energy, boss. Yeah. So, as Robert Jenrick explained there, one lucky winner, lucky winner, will get Nigel Farage knocking at their door. Their energy bills and the energy bills of the whole street were paid for one year. It's the most Squid Game stroke Troy McClure thing I've seen ever. At this point, Adam Curtis documentaries are almost making themselves. I mean, this is a collapsing economic system writ large. The stunt is being used to promote reform's announcement that the party will be getting rid of VAT and green levies on energy bills.
But at the same time, Reform UK is cheering on an illegal war on Iran, which is raising energy bills, but at the same time saying they want to cut your energy bill. Like nothing about, as always with reform, very little about what they're saying makes any sense whatsoever.
How is Nigel Farage using Cameo for questionable promotions?
I mean, I'm not a lawyer, but certainly something about it feels eggy. Sorry to keep laboring on Maya Simpson's references, but you know, like Dr. Nick on the back of it. It's got real Dr. Nick vibes about it. The party insists that the giveaway is allowed because it's open to anyone and the winner does not have to commit to voting for reform. It's also really worth pointing out that without doing anything systemic to reduce people's energy bills and instead just paying off the streets energy bills, you know, it's really revealing of the way Reform UK sees the country. And it's an attempt to return to almost like a Victorian system of patronage, where just every so often wealthy people hand the parvos a stack of cash and then do nothing to actually help improve the lives of most of the people living in this country.
I think it's quite Trumpy, isn't it? It's that winners and losers thing.
What implications does the war in the Middle East have on energy prices?
And it's writ large here. It's quite literally a game. What if you don't enter that competition or you do and you don't win? Oh, well, energy poverty for you, I guess. What is this? How is this being spun as being warm or for the people? I find it quite grotesque. It also shows you where we are as a country.
What insights do the authors of 'Muskism' provide about Elon Musk?
I mean, a couple of years ago in 2022, during the height of the cost of living crisis or that phase of the cost of living crisis, there was a thing on This Morning where Phil Schofield and Holly Willoughby were hosting a segment where it was called Spin to Win, and one of the prizes was paying four months of your energy bills. It is deeply, deeply worrying. The party is, to be absolutely fair to reform, totally flush with cash after a recent £12 million donation from crypto billionaire Christopher Harbourn. And also, in many ways, this is quite cheap because everyone entering the competition will give over their contact details, and I'm sure that data will be very useful for reform for campaigning purposes.
Yeah, it's a data mining exercise, okay? It's a worthwhile financial investment for them in terms of the...
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:14
2
What controversial energy bill stunt is Reform UK promoting?
0:14–2:01
3
How is Nigel Farage using Cameo for questionable promotions?
2:01–2:51
4
What implications does the war in the Middle East have on energy prices?
2:51–3:12
5
What insights do the authors of 'Muskism' provide about Elon Musk?
3:12–5:40
6
How is Angela Rayner positioning herself within the Labour Party?
5:40–10:02
7
How does Farage's energy bill competition serve as a data mining exercise?
10:02–19:20
8
How does the discussion reflect on the future of the Labour Party?
19:20–57:57
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