French far-right leader Jordan Bardella to address Reform UK party conference

Bardella to Speak at Reform UK Conference

Wanderstayfinder.com – French far right leader Jordan Bardella, the thirty-year-old president of France’s National Rally, will deliver a keynote at Reform UK’s annual party conference in Birmingham next Friday. The appearance, paired with a joint press conference alongside Reform’s leader Nigel Farage, sixty-two, signals a deliberate tightening of cross-Channel alignment between two figures who share an anti-immigration platform and are, by their own description, already mapping out future bilateral cooperation. The two-day event gives both men a stage to coordinate messaging ahead of what will be a defining electoral season on either side of the Channel.

The timing is pointed. Bardella’s visit lands just weeks before Marine Le Pen launches her formal bid for the French presidency in May. Her party, long dominant in French right-wing politics, currently sits high in opinion polls and is widely expected to reach the final round of the presidential contest. The Reform–RN pairing is therefore not merely symbolic; it positions both organisations to align policy positions and campaign strategy during the run-up to May.

Le Pen’s Legal Shadow and the Joint-Ticket Plan

Le Pen’s campaign launch this summer arrived under a cloud that has followed her for years. A Paris appeal court upheld her conviction at the centre of an embezzlement case involving more than €2.8 million (£2.4 million) in European Parliament funds channelled into her party between 2004 and 2016. She has since taken the matter to France’s highest court. As parliamentary leader of the RN in the National Assembly — and former party leader from 2011 to 2021 — she carries both institutional weight and personal legal exposure into the race.

Her stated plan is to run on a joint ticket with the RN president as prime minister. Under the Fifth Republic system, the president serves as head of state with authority over foreign policy and national security, while directly appointing a prime minister to manage domestic governance. The pairing splits executive power along a foreign/domestic axis, placing the younger figure in charge of day-to-day government should Le Pen prevail in May.

“Preparing Our Future Cooperation”

Bardella’s team confirmed the Birmingham itinerary, which includes both the keynote address and the joint press event with Farage. The two men first met privately at a lunch in London at the close of last year, where their conversation centred on anti-immigration strategy. The French leader has since spoken publicly about the encounter in terms that go well beyond diplomatic courtesy.

“Nigel Farage is a great patriot, he has fought all his life to defend his country’s independence, freedom and sovereignty,” Bardella said following his talks with Farage.

He went further, expressing the hope that Farage would become Britain’s next prime minister and framing the two men as prospective heads of government working in tandem.

“We could perhaps tomorrow be at the head of our respective governments, in a situation where he would be leading a British government and me at the head of a French government. So we’re preparing our future cooperation.”

“I think that we share a joint determination to stop immigration – to protect our countries from a wave of immigration to Europe that is just beginning. We’re conscious that our people want to protect their identity, and I think we can find extremely pragmatic and extremely firm solutions to control immigration together.”

On the practical policy front, the RN president — who also sits as a member of the European Parliament — has backed tighter police coordination between London and Paris over the small-boat crossings of the English Channel. His stated preference, however, is that migrants intercepted in those crossings be returned to their countries of origin rather than processed through French territory.

A Fractured History: Farage and Le Pen in 2014

The current warmth between the two camps sits in sharp contrast to an earlier rupture. In 2014, when Farage led UKIP and Le Pen’s party was still styled the Front National, both competed to be recognised as the European Parliament’s leading Eurosceptic voice. That year, Le Pen proposed that UKIP join a parliamentary coalition with the FN. Farage turned the offer down, citing what he described as “prejudice and antisemitism” within her party. Le Pen fired back, labelling his remarks “defamatory” and “extremely disagreeable declarations” made in an effort to inflate his own popularity.

Twelve years later, the same two figures are being positioned as natural partners in a broader European right-wing project. The shift underscores how electoral arithmetic and shared policy priorities can override personal history when the stakes of a presidential contest demand it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is Bardella speaking at the Reform UK conference? He will deliver a keynote at the annual Reform UK party conference in Birmingham next Friday, alongside a joint press conference with Nigel Farage. The event runs two days.

What is the relationship between Reform UK and France’s National Rally? Both parties share an anti-immigration platform. Bardella and Farage have described their relationship as one of prospective heads of government “preparing future cooperation,” though no formal electoral alliance has been announced.

What is Le Pen’s legal situation heading into the presidential race? A Paris appeal court upheld her conviction in an embezzlement case involving more than €2.8 million in European Parliament funds. She has appealed to France’s highest court. The case does not, under current French law, bar her from standing as a presidential candidate.

How does the French joint-ticket system work? Under the Fifth Republic, the president is head of state with authority over foreign policy and national security. The president directly appoints a prime minister to manage domestic governance. Le Pen’s stated plan pairs herself as president with Bardella as prime minister, splitting executive power along a foreign/domestic axis.