Senior Tory urges Elon Musk not to back Reform UK

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Conservative shadow minister Andrew Griffith has called on Elon Musk to take another look at the Tories before committing to UK reform, underscoring his party’s low-tax and anti-awakening credentials.

The Tesla billionaire discussed the idea of ​​donating to Reform at a meeting in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on Monday with party leader Nigel Farage and his new treasurer Nick Candy, a property tycoon, according to Farage.

The prospect of a big donation from the world’s richest man to Farage’s populist right-wing party has sparked consternation among Conservatives who fear they will be left out of the Reform Party at the next UK general election.

Griffith described Musk as a “terribly talented businessman” with interests in the UK who is concerned about issues such as freedom of speech or what he called the “virus of the awakened mind”.

“I would tell him [Musk] or Nicky, look what the Conservative Party is doing,” Griffith told the Financial Times on Wednesday. He argued that the Tories were the best vehicle for opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labor government.

“If you’re actually serious about providing opposition to this very socialist government, which many believe is a threat to free speech, actually, you know, before you jump into any particular course, take a proper look at the full menu,” Griffith said.

The shadow business secretary highlighted his role when he was council minister last year in helping people, including Farage, who said they had been refused bank accounts because of their political views.

He also pointed to Tory leader Cammy Badenoch’s criticism of the closed NHS Tavistock clinic for children’s gender identity.

The prospect of Musk’s support for reform came into focus this week when he, Farage and former Tory donor Candy were pictured together in a tweet by the Reform leader, with Farage posting the photo on Tuesday with the caption: “Britain needs reform”. Musk responded to the post.

Griffith declined to comment on whether he actively wanted Musk, a prominent Donald Trump ally, to donate to the Conservative Party instead, saying that was not part of his role.

But the shadow business secretary said he had spoken to senior figures in the incoming Trump administration in Washington and shared their views on trying to spend taxpayers’ money more wisely.

“I’m not going to pretend I ran to Mar-a-Lago and tweeted about it, but I spent a week in Washington talking to potential administrations and people around and what’s going to happen with government efficiency,” he said. .

Also on Wednesday, a spokesman for Badenoch said the Tory leader was “a huge fan of Elon Musk and what he did with X”.

Badenoch has championed the principle of a British version of the Doge, the Trump administration’s efficiency department, which Musk will lead, his spokesman added. The advisory unit aims to cut red tape.

The recently elected opposition leader “believes there has been over-regulation and too often our first response has been more government” in Britain, a spokesman for Badenoch added.

He did not say how much Badenoch would cut as part of the UK efficiency plan, but said: “There’s fat to cut.”

Downing Street declined to comment on Musk’s opposition to Starmer.