Jordan Bardella, president of France’s National Rally and a member of the European Parliament, will deliver a speech at Reform UK’s party conference next Friday in Birmingham. The appearance represents an effort to expand international political connections as his party prepares for the French presidential election scheduled for May, when Marine Le Pen is expected to campaign for the presidency with Bardella positioned as her proposed prime minister candidate.
Bardella and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage plan to hold a joint press conference during the conference visit. The two political figures held a private lunch meeting at the end of last year, during which they discussed anti-immigration policy. Bardella has expressed admiration for Farage, characterizing him as a defender of national independence and sovereignty, and has indicated hope that the Reform leader will become Britain’s next prime minister.
Both Bardella and Farage have centered their political messaging on immigration control. Bardella has advocated for stronger police cooperation between France and Britain regarding migration across the English Channel and has proposed returning migrants to their countries of origin rather than resettling them in France. The two leaders have framed their potential future collaboration as pragmatic cooperation between governments led by their respective parties.
Le Pen’s National Rally currently polls strongly ahead of the May presidential election. Le Pen launched her campaign this summer despite a Paris appeal court’s decision to uphold her conviction related to embezzlement of European Parliament funds. She has appealed the conviction to France’s highest court. The party’s relationship with Farage has been complicated historically; in 2014, when the party was called Front National, Farage rejected a proposed coalition, citing concerns about prejudice and antisemitism within the organization, a claim Le Pen disputed at the time.
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