European diplomats engage with Reform UK ahead of annual conference

BIRMINGHAM, England — European diplomats are quietly courting Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, as the party gathers for its annual conference this week — with several EU countries sending representatives for the first time.

Germany, Italy and Spain are among the nations dispatching officials to the party’s conference in Birmingham, as capitals begin to grapple with the prospect of Farage’s party entering government.

“There are more [diplomats] attending this year, probably, because embassies realize more and more Reform UK is a political party that we have to take seriously, and it’s good to have contacts across political parties,” one EU diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic engagement, told POLITICO.

“This is how we get a better understanding of the policies and ambitions [of Reform], and also our way to share our views, [for example] on the importance of European cooperation,” the diplomat added.

Farage’s party has seen a decline in public support over the course of 2026, but is still neck-and-neck in the polls with the governing Labour party, which is enjoying a polling bounce after the appointment of Andy Burnham as prime minister in July.

Unwinding the reset

A Farage government would pose challenges for the European Union.

Reform has pledged to unwind the “reset” deals that the Labour government is negotiating with Brussels — and renegotiate the post-Brexit trade deal. It also wants to revisit the U.K.’s migrant returns deal with France, while removing EU settled status for welfare claimants and student loans for foreign nationals.

Tensions between the EU and Reform have remained high over the last year, with the bloc considering a so-called “Farage clause” designed to protect the reset from being rolled back by a future government. Farage, however, has already warned he would “not honour any clause.”

Berlin, Rome and Madrid aren’t the only capitals sending delegates in an effort to improve ties with the party.

Representatives from Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania are also expected to descend on Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre for this week’s conference, according to multiple people familiar with embassy plans.

Officials attending this year are largely political affairs officers and other diplomats, rather than the ambassadors themselves — a signal that European capitals are looking to establish contact with Reform without elevating the engagement to the highest diplomatic level.

“As an embassy, it’s our responsibility to monitor all domestic developments in the host country,” a second EU diplomat said. “For that reason, we aim to follow as many party conferences as possible, either in person or through other means.”

Staying away

However, one notable European nation appears to be keeping its distance.

France will not be sending representatives to this year’s conference, two EU diplomats told POLITICO — as Reform UK invites Jordan Bardella, president of France’s far-right National Rally, to address Farage’s supporters on Friday.

The French embassy did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.