Nigel Farage is set to stop writing a regular column for the Telegraph, becoming the latest prominent rightwing figure to leave the newspaper’s roster since its change of ownership.
The Reform UK leader contributed to the paper as recently as last week, when he criticised the first budget of Andy Burnham’s premiership. In that column, he pledged to “scrap benefits for foreigners, abolish net zero targets” and “slash foreign aid”.
The Guardian understands that Farage’s regular contract is ending. He was not required to produce a fixed number of columns each week or month, but contributed regularly and received a monthly retainer of about £4,000, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests.
There is disagreement over why the arrangement is ending. Some sources said Axel Springer, the Telegraph’s new German owner, decided not to renew the contract. Sources close to Farage, however, said he resigned on Friday because he was unhappy with the direction in which the newspaper was moving.
The decision is likely to intensify scrutiny of the Telegraph’s political direction under Axel Springer. The company has expressed ambitions to develop the title in the United States as a centre-right, pro-free speech alternative to the Wall Street Journal.
The move follows reports that Allison Pearson, one of the Telegraph’s firmly rightwing columnists, was in discussions about leaving. It also comes amid concern within parts of the newspaper over its relationship with Reform UK, including the party’s alleged use of the title to publish “spoiler” stories before potentially damaging reports appeared elsewhere.
Some staff also objected to an article about a journalist travelling to Britain by small boat after it emerged that the journalist was a Reform member and activist. The paper continues to publish columns by Isabel Oakeshott, the partner of Reform deputy leader Richard Tice and a supporter of many of the party’s policies.
Farage’s previous Telegraph columns have urged readers to vote for Reform, describing the opportunity as their “last chance”. He also defended the party’s acceptance of two £36m donations from cryptocurrency billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, writing that the donors wanted nothing in return.
His departure comes as Axel Springer prepares widespread redundancies across its business, including the newsroom. The sports and culture sections appear to have been particularly affected, while staff have also been angered by the cuts after earlier comments from chief executive Mathias Döpfner that the titles could not cut their way to growth.
The Telegraph is also expected to outline plans to expand its US operations, although staff have said the strategy remains unclear. Pearson’s podcast, Planet Normal, also appears likely to end, while her co-host Liam Halligan has said that his Sunday Telegraph column was scrapped as part of the cuts.
A Telegraph source said the newspaper could not comment on individual employment matters.
The Telegraph Media Group’s latest accounts reported a £4m loss for the previous year, attributed to legal costs from its ownership saga and the revaluation of assets. Revenue fell slightly from 2024 to £273.2m, although the accounts of Telegraph Media Group Holdings showed an underlying pre-tax operating profit of about £48m.
Sources: The Guardian World.