Nigel Farage resigns as MP for Clacton, triggering by-election which he says he will stand in

For a man who could be PM, this is what scrutiny looks likepublished at 13:22 BST

13:22 BST

Chris Mason
Political editor

Once again, the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is in the news and at the heart of the headlines are power, transparency and money.

Vast amounts of money, in the view of his critics far too little transparency, and a party that opinion polls suggest is the favourite to win power at the next general election.

The ongoing swirl of stories about Farage has put him on the back foot – he has been much less visible in front of the cameras and has come across as uncomfortable, even irritable, at the questions thrown his way as a result.

His argument is none of this relates to taxpayers’ money and it collectively amounts to ongoing attempts to undermine both him and Reform UK.

But it does relate to huge quantities of money and big questions about what that money can buy – particularly given the connections to cryptocurrency and Farage’s long standing desire to liberalise the UK’s approach to digital currencies.

The Reform leader has long argued his views on crypto are long standing and gifts buy nothing in terms of influence.

In truth, all of this is what scrutiny looks like when you are a candidate for prime minister, as Nigel Farage is.

And for the first time in a long time, Reform’s political rivals spot a party encountering turbulence.