Think-tank pushes sweeping changes
A think-tank linked to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is drawing up proposals to weaken the power of Britain’s courts and civil service in preparation for a possible right-wing government.
Jonathan Brown, who heads the newly launched Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB), told the Financial Times that his organisation would examine how to “rebalance” power away from unelected officials and judges. Brown, a former Reform executive and ex-defence civil servant, argued that the system had “fallen too much in favour of the permanent structures.”
Echoes of Trump and Truss
The plans bear similarities to “Project 2025” in the US, a strategy devised to give Donald Trump sweeping executive control. Brown cited both Trump and former prime minister Liz Truss as examples of leaders whose agendas were thwarted by institutions, saying the civil service must not be allowed to block government policy.
Reform’s priorities include taking the UK out of the European Court of Human Rights and scrapping the Human Rights Act, paving the way for mass deportations. The think-tank also intends to scrutinise the fiscal outlook and energy policy, questioning net zero as a top priority.
Constitutional overhaul on horizon
Legal experts warned that such changes could fundamentally reshape Britain’s constitutional order. Tarun Khaitan of the London School of Economics noted that a Reform prime minister could ignore political conventions, such as the ministerial code or the balance of appointments in the House of Lords, to secure unchecked power.
CFABB, based in Millbank Tower, has secured £1mn from British donors and plans to expand fundraising to the US. Farage told Reform’s conference in Birmingham that his party was preparing for an election as soon as 2027.
