Plans are under way for a new think-tank – tentatively dubbed Resolute 1850, according to the FT. Styled unapologetically on American political juggernauts like the America First Policy Institute and the Center for Renewing America. These aren’t dusty policy shops; they’re ideological engines, message factories and donor bait rolled into one. Reform UK wants in.
The name Resolute 1850 is no accident. It’s a wink across the Atlantic – a nod to HMS Resolute, the British ship whose timbers were carved into the Resolute Desk, where US presidents playact power. Pure stagecraft dripping with symbolism. Reform UK isn’t just flirting with Trump’s orbit; it’s draping itself in shared mythology, aligning its brand with a global, grievance-fuelled movement.
Reform doesn’t want to be just another protest party. It wants infrastructure. Permanence. Gravitas. Oh, and it wants cash.
The ambition is high-octane. A formal launch by year’s end. A Davos-style global summit by 2026. This isn’t a backroom policy club – it’s a stage for the ideological elite. Think less Chatham House, more CPAC with union jack bunting.
From pub-bore populism to serious actor
For Reform UK, this is more than a pivot. It’s an evolution. Farage’s party, once dismissed as a vehicle for pub-bore populism, is trying to become a serious actor – one with institutional muscle and intellectual ballast. The days of single-issue Brexit bluster may be behind them. Now it’s about building a lasting ecosystem of influence.
But with the bold comes the backlash. Expect questions about foreign money and the creeping Americanisation of British politics. Expect establishment pearl-clutching. Reform will love that.
In an age where perception is king and every party is a brand, Resolute 1850 could be Reform UK’s masterstroke. It’s strategic. It’s theatrical. It’s dangerous.
And that’s precisely the point.
