Commons Seating Dispute: Farage Misses First Budget of Session

For the first time in this parliamentary session, the House of Commons heard the Chancellor's budget without the Reform UK leader present. Nigel Farage sat out the event on October 28, 2026, citing concerns over seating arrangements that he feared could lead to another physical clash with a fellow member.

Farage held a press conference following the announcement of the fiscal measures. He described the £10 billion allocated to support Ukraine as a source of shock. He also reiterated his party's stance on cryptocurrency, confirming that Reform intends to cut capital gains tax for investors in the digital asset sector.

The decision to stay away stemmed from a specific incident in the chamber. Farage said another MP had removed the green paper slip, known as a prayer card, that he had placed to reserve his seat. He noted that a similar seating dispute had turned physical during the state opening of parliament earlier in the year.

"At the state opening of parliament, I got involved in, I didn't want to, but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber," Farage said. He added that he had not complained at the time but saw the removal of his prayer card as a signal that another confrontation was likely. He chose to give parliament a wide berth to avoid conflict and instead reviewed the budget line by line with his office economists.

A spokesperson for the House of Commons clarified the procedural reason for the seat's availability. They stated that prayer cards must display a valid date stamp to reserve a seat. The card on Farage's seat lacked this stamp, so staff removed it in line with standard chamber protocol.

In his assessment of the new measures, Farage suggested that the modest nature of the spending pledges indicated a general election might occur in May 2027. He stated that Reform would be prepared for a vote as early as December. He criticized the increased machine-games duty on gambling shops, arguing it would harm the horse-racing industry and push activity offshore or into crypto platforms.

Regarding his party's crypto tax policy, Farage maintained that a 10% tax rate on gains would incentivize people to enter a regulated system. He said the move would bring the sector in from the cold and would not primarily benefit his major donors. On the Ukraine aid package, he expressed surprise at the volume of economic and military support.

"I'm really concerned the money's going to get used properly and spent well," Farage said. He claimed to be more worried about Vladimir Putin's rationality than at any previous point in the conflict. He said he could accept the size of the aid if he was assured it would not be swallowed up by corruption or used to enrich Ukrainian officials.

Farage also addressed the legacy of the 2022 budget under former Prime Minister Liz Truss. He said he liked the top lines of that document but misunderstood the lack of spending cuts. He argued that radical spending cuts would have allowed for deeper tax reductions. On a separate topic, he commented on Tommy Robinson's conviction for harassing journalists, describing the behavior as very wrong but noting that Reform members who admire Robinson are not full-blown marchers in support of his cause.