Shock to the System

Shock to the System is the definitive account of the rise of Reform and what came next.

Nigel Farage’s story was meant to end on 23 June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. But his in-and-out journey over the following decade helped finish Theresa May, Rishi Sunak – and potentially the Tory party itself. Now Farage is the bookmakers’ favourite to become next Prime Minister.
With unrivalled access and insight, award-winning political journalist James Heale tells the tale of a band of comrades and cronies who want to put Farage in Downing Street by 2029. Eye-opening, revelatory and brilliantly told, Shock to the System will explain Reform’s extraordinary growth and constant near self-implosion and assess their prospects as we approach what could be the most significant elections for a generation. Crucially it will ask who is Nigel Farage and his Reform Party? What might a Farage cabinet look like? And can he really fix Britain?
This is the definitive story of Reform UK’s rise and where it goes next.