# Reform and Farage ‘don’t do defence’ in parliament, new analysis shows

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/reform-and-farage-dont-do-defence-in-parliament-new-analysis-shows/
- Published: 2026-11-01T16:19:27+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T17:25:16+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farage-reform-defence-parliament-analysis-b3076542.html
- Topics: Government, Politics

## Key points

- Reform MPs attended 30 per cent of defence sessions.
- Farage spoke in 10 of 210 sessions.
- Reform plans to appoint a shadow armed forces minister.

## Summary

New analysis suggests Reform UK MPs took part in 30 per cent of parliamentary debates and question sessions on defence, while Nigel Farage spoke in fewer than 5 per cent. The findings have renewed questions about the party’s attention to defence as it presents itself as a potential government and security concerns rise.

From the King’s Speech in July 2024 to 15 July 2026, MPs participated in 63 of 210 defence sessions and missed 147; Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats participated in all of them. Farage spoke in 10 sessions, nine concerning the Chagos Islands, while Richard Tice made 31 interventions. Reform plans to appoint a shadow armed forces minister, and a party source dismissed the analysis as focused on parliamentary debates they considered out of touch.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.