Nigel Farage claimed with great fanfare last year to have “bought a house” in Clacton – but it turns out the substantial detached property is owned in the name of his girlfriend.
The Reform UK leader said he had “exchanged contracts” to buy the house in Essex last November, saying it should deal with criticism that he does not spend enough time in the constituency.
However, the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was actually solely bought by Laure Ferrari, his partner of some years.
Farage was asked by the Guardian why he had claimed to be the buyer, and whether the property had been bought in Ferrari’s name in a way that allowed him legally to avoid higher-rate stamp duty on the purchase of an additional residential house – given that he already owns other properties.
He was also asked whether he was the ultimate source of funds for the transaction either by gift or loan and whether it was Ferrari’s sole property in the UK, which could make her eligible for standard rate stamp duty.
Farage said: “Whether I say ‘I’ or ‘we is pretty irrelevant. Laure bought the house; it is her asset.
“The main reason my name does not appear is for security reasons. I would have thought that obvious. As for her other UK or French assets, that is purely a private matter.”
Stamp duty is paid at rates up to 5% for residential property but an additional 5% is added if the purchase relates to another property on top of ones already owned.
Farage already has a property worth about £1m in the village of Downe in Kent, as well as two houses in Lydd-on Sea in the same county, which are owned through his company, Thorn in the Side. He also has property in Tandridge in Surrey.
The Reform leader has faced criticism about the amount of time he has spent overseas, mostly in the US, since he was elected MP for Clacton last July. He has made at least nine trips abroad in under a year and this week has been on holiday in France, despite parliament still sitting.
This week, he confirmed he was on holiday, saying he was taking his first overseas break for three years apart from his stint in the I’m a Celebrity jungle – but that he was still writing articles and taking calls about fundraising for Reform UK.
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Asked last November about how much time he spends in Clacton, he told Sky News: “I’ve just exchanged contracts on the house that I’ll be living there in – is that good enough? … I’ve bought a house in Clacton. What more do you want me to do?”
He also told LBC in January that he had bought a house in Clacton, saying: “That’s why you can see me out, often on a Saturday morning, out buying the essentials – limes, tonic, all that sort of thing.”
The Reform leader is so far the highest-earning MP this year, and data from his register of interests shows he has spent more than 800 hours on outside employment since being elected.
In April, he got a 10th job, making £25,000 (AU$52,000) as a commentator for the Rupert Murdoch-backed Sky News Australia.
His other roles include a £280,000 job advertising gold bullion, a £4,000-a-month column for the Daily Telegraph, and presenting for GB News, which has paid him more than £330,000 since July.
Farage has also made speeches, done social media work on Google, X and Meta, and sold personalised videos on Cameo, which has made him £125,000 since the election. In total, he is approaching £900,000 in outside earnings.