Bardella: ‘great patriot’ Nigel Farage will be next UK PM

French far-right politician Jordan Bardella has said he believes Nigel Farage will be the next prime minister of the UK, following a meeting between the two.

President of the Rassemblement National party Mr Bardella made several media appearances during a whistle-stop tour of the UK this week, including his meeting with Leader of the Reform UK party Mr Farage on Tuesday (December 9).

The trip, in which he spoke to the BBC in addition to several UK media outlets, was his third ever visit to London, he said.

Mr Bardella heaped praise on his British counterpart, who he called “a great patriot who has always defended the interests of Britain and the British people,” in an interview with The Telegraph.

“I think that Farage will be the next prime minister,” Mr Bardella added. 

“I have a lot of respect for him, because he was a pioneer who fought for the freedom and independence of his country.”

During the meeting, the pair discussed several topics including immigration and the issue of small boats without permission to enter the UK crossing the English Channel – although Mr Bardella ultimately defended the UK’s right to push back boats containing irregular migrants to Calais, even if this caused issues for France.

The meeting has heralded the start of a potential ‘alliance’ between the two parties.

Both politicians still differ on the EU however, with Mr Bardella reiterating that the RN are no longer a ‘Frexit’ party seeking to copy the UK and remove France from the European Union. 

“I think that you can transform the European Union,” he said to The Telegraph. 

“I hope that one day we [conservatives including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Hungary’s Viktor Orban] will form one large group. I think the only way to achieve this is to win the elections in France,” he said. 

“It is conceivable that one day we will see the return of Great Britain,” to the union, once internal rules have been altered to reduce EU Commission power, Mr Bardella said. 

During the meeting Mr Bardella reportedly spoke mostly in French – although he has been taking English lessons in recent years – with Mr Farage’s French-speaking wife translating.

Change of attitudes 

It sees a change in Mr Farage, who long refused to meet members of the Rassemblement National (RN) including party leader Marine Le Pen.

This position was based on the party’s history under founder and former leader Jean-Marie Le Pen – Ms Le Pen’s father – with Mr Farage not wanting to associate with a group he branded as having anti-semitic ‘baggage’.

Mr Faraga is currently facing allegations over anti-semitic comments made during his school years, which he strictly denies.

In addition during the 2024 French legislative elections, Mr Farage called the economic plans of the party a ‘disaster’.

His acceptance to a meeting with Mr Bardella shows a shift in attitude towards the French far-right.

Mr Bardella has continued the drive to ‘detoxify’ the party in an initiative begun by Marine Le Pen. The focus appears to have effected change not just in France, where the party has topped polls for several years and gained the largest vote share in the 2024 European Elections, but also further afield.

“Today, on the issue of anti-Semitism, I believe that no one is clearer than us. Many French Jews vote for us because we now appear to be a shield for them against radical Islam,” said Mr Bardella to The Telegraph, adding that Israel also backed the party. 

Topping polls in both countries

A wider change of attitude towards both Mr Farage – a long-time Eurosceptic and figurehead for Brexit – and Mr Bardella may soon be forthcoming on both sides of the English Channel based on recent polling data.

Mr Bardella is widely expected to head the party at the 2027 presidential election, if a ban on Marine Le Pen running for office is upheld. 

The RN have topped several recent nationwide polls in France and in one-on-one polls for the 2027 presidential election Mr Bardella comes out on top against almost every other candidate forecast to run.

Nigel Farage is expected to lead Reform UK in the 2029 UK general election. 

The party leads consistently in UK polls, with many suggesting Reform UK would win an outright majority of seats in the House of Commons if an election were held today.

The idea of a far-right party in control of either nation seems more of a possibility than ever. As both Mr Bardella and Mr Farage move not only their parties but their personalities from the fringes to the mainstream, heads of state may see it necessary to interact with them.

Domestically, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy recently said traditional right-wing parties in France may need to ally with the far-right in future election cycles, potentially signalling the end of a long-standing ‘shut-out’ of the far-right from political alliances.