Unlock Editor’s Digest for free
FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newspaper.
Reform Britain’s leader Nigel Farage is expected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, where he will rub shoulders with top politicians and business figures from around the world despite criticizing the conference in the past.
The populist politician, who leads Britain’s opinion polls, is scheduled to appear at the event, according to people familiar with the matter, even though he previously said his party would “reject the influence” of the WEF.
Other attendees at the event at the mountain resort are expected to include US President Donald Trump and UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as well as JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and Granada’s Ana Botín.
Farage said in 2024: “Reform UK will reject the influence of the World Economic Forum and revoke Britain’s membership of it.”
The UK is not a formal member of the WEF, which this year runs between January 19 and 23 with the theme of “the spirit of dialogue”.
Farage described Sir Keir Starmer, then leader of the Labor opposition in 2023, as “a complete globalist, hanging out with his mates at the WEF”.
In 2020, he released a video in which he discussed the WEF conference and said: “What’s happened to us during the last 50 years is that we’ve decided that nation-states don’t matter, we’ve decided that national democracies don’t matter, because we can decide all this in ski resorts in Switzerland. Isn’t that wonderful?
“The national state, based on democracy, is far better than people deciding our future in Swiss ski resorts on their annual trip to Davos.”
Faraz decided to attend the event as he wants to build ties with influential foreign leaders and strengthen his international image ahead of the next elections, which should be held by the summer of 2029.
In December, he visited Abu Dhabi and held meetings with senior UAE officials.
Trump attended Davos in 2018 and gave a speech in which he highlighted the “America First” agenda that defined his first term.
He did not attend in person last year, instead giving a video address, but this year he is expected to attend the event in the Eastern Alps.
Other confirmed speakers include Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cambridge University Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice.
