The Sun, on UK Politics, 5 November 2026

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How Farage aims to show he’s still a serious candidate for PM after being blasted for being weak on defence

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Comment now Next NIGEL Farage will today try to turn around his flagging poll numbers by showing he is still a serious candidate for Prime Minister. This will see the Reform leader finally unveil his first defence spokesman after months without one. 4 Nigel Farage will today try to turn around his flagging poll numbers by showing he is still a serious candidate for Prime Minister Source: Martyn Wheatley / Parsons Media 4 Farage’s insurgent party has slipped into third behind Labour and the Tories Source: PA Advertisement Senior RAF officer Angus MacIntyre will take up the post after leaving a 40-year military career just last Friday.

It is telling that Farage has overlooked several jobless Reform MPs for the role but has instead drawn from the armed forces itself. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. For months the Reform chief has faced criticism that he is weak on defence, and that when it comes to backing Ukraine he is often accused of being missing in action.

Today’s announcement aims to blunt that line of attack and begin to arrest the gradual slide in popularity he has been suffering. READ MORE ON POLITICS MIGRANT BILL Labour's immigration U-turn could leave taxpayers 'facing £5.2bn-a-year bill' EU WHAT? Britain could be UNABLE to deport EU crooks if PM forges closer ties with Brussels Will it be enough to get him back to winning ways? Since the highs of last summer when Reform seemed an unstoppable political force, Farage’s insurgent party has slipped into third behind Labour and the Tories.

It followed the £72million donation from two cryptobillionaires , a distracting Clacton by-election, two undercover stings and endless rows. Farage has been written off before during his 30-year political career and got the last laugh, and he is still commanding a respectable 21 points in the polls. Advertisement Most read in The Sun FARM TRAGEDY Uncle & nephew horrifically suffocate in pig farm slurry pit after one fell in BLADE ARRESTS Two teens arrested for murder 6 months after dad-of-three stabbed to death MIGRANT BILL Labour's immigration U-turn could leave taxpayers 'facing £5.2bn-a-year bill' 'BACON SURRENDER' Fury as smoky-bacon crisps could be headed for chop in PM's Brexit reset 4 The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates for the first time in more than three years, dealing a fresh blow to Andy Burnham’s cost-of-living promises Source: Getty 4 It will be interesting today to see how Farage responds to questions over his friend in the White House Source: AP But momentum can be everything in politics .

Once lost, it is very hard to get back. He will hope the gap in the news cycle today will allow him breathing space to get a hearing on this most pressing of issues. The other big event today is a likely interest rate rise for the first time in more than three years . Advertisement At noon Bank of England chiefs are expected to hike rates in response to stubborn inflation caused by the Iran war. It will deal a blow to Andy Burnham and his promise to ease the cost of livin g. For that, he has Donald Trump to thank.

Talking of which, it will be interesting today to see how Farage responds to questions over his friend in the White House… Comment now

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About this analysis

The Sun reports that Nigel Farage will name a retired senior RAF officer, Angus MacIntyre, as Reform's first defence spokesman, and presents the move as an attempt to answer criticism that he is weak on defence and to halt a slide in the polls. The criticism is attributed rather than stated as fact, and the poll claims stay modest. Nothing in it misleads the reader about the event.

What it gets right

  • “For months the Reform chief has faced criticism that he is weak on defence”

    The Sun presents the charge that Farage is weak on defence as criticism he faces, not as its own verdict. The headline's 'blasted' rests on this attributed claim.

  • “Senior RAF officer Angus MacIntyre will take up the post after leaving a 40-year military career just last Friday.”

    The Sun names the appointee and gives the concrete facts of his career and timing, which match the other coverage of the same announcement.

  • “he is still commanding a respectable 21 points in the polls”

    The Sun balances its 'flagging poll numbers' line with the actual figure, so the reader does not overrate the scale of Reform's decline.

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