It is with great sorrow that Reform UK has announced a pause in its leader Nigel Farage’s blossoming Cameo career, citing “security reasons”.
For those unaware of the platform, Cameo allows celebrities, politicians and sportspeople to make videos for fans for a fee. Cameo was brought to my attention last month, when a friend spotted disgraced former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace hawking Valentine’s messages. I honestly can’t think of anything less likely to get me in the mood for love than a personalised message from that creepy scrotum, but I’m reliably informed there’s something for everyone on the site.
Farage’s messages are a little less romantic. Last week, The Guardian reported that his videos included one supporting a man convicted of violent disorder and another linked to neo-Nazi event. The grift that really keeps on giving is the bloopers. Farage is credited with understanding social media better than any UK politician, but this doesn’t extend to putting his phone on silent to record his clips. The resulting angry, vein-faced fs and cs are part disturbing, part very, very funny.
Since he became an MP in 2024, Farage has registered around £80,000 worth of income from his Cameo account. The closure (sorry – pause) must be a bit of a wrench, but happily he has a new venture to fall back on. Nearly two weeks ago, the Liz Truss-era former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, unveiled him as a strategic investor in Stack, his new crypto Bitcoin treasury. Speaking of unfortunate bloopers, Kwarteng’s video on X announcing the news, where he called for “institutional credibility” for Bitcoin treasury companies, misspelled “credibility”. You can practically smell the professionalism.
It isn’t really fair to single these two out. A lot of people are at it. Regardless of where you fall on the ethics of MPs having second jobs or former/current politicians making money out of their former/current positions. This is perhaps rich coming from me, who has joined the full pool of political podcasts; I’m keen to point out that Helen and I are not paid in Bitcoin – it is happening all around us. Boris Johnson is said to charge over £200,000 for a speech.
But why do they? Money is obviously a big part of it. Johnson has his multiple children and many well-documented holidays to fund. Kwarteng is unlikely to be invited onto the board of Goldman Sachs after the mini-Budget disaster. My career as an erotic political novelist is not as lucrative as I’d hoped. But there’s more. Someone told me recently that a group of A-level politics students paid Farage to record a Cameo for their teacher (a practical joke as he is not a Reform fan). The video went viral, first around the school and then around the town. Two minutes of his time for £100 or so. And thousands of pairs of eyes.
The prime minister himself isn’t immune. Setting aside the money he earned in legal fees whilst a sitting MP, Politico reported this week that the Labour Party is paying a communications agency to source influencers to promote the PM’s cost-of-living message. Have they reached out to Gregg Wallace? He is currently offering Cameos at just £37.48. A bargain. And arguably with more ”credability[sic]” than Kwasi.
And what about in the PM’s official capacity? As you might imagine, the prime minister is inundated with invitations to events and opportunities to engage with business. A large team of people works through these enquiries, trying to balance the PM’s time and energy with ways to meet with as many interest groups as possible.
This ends up in roughly four categories:
- YES – we would love to host you for a reception in Downing Street or visit your factory for a brilliant photo opportunity that aligns with an announcement.
- Sadly, the PM can’t attend, but he is pleased to pre-record a message to be played at your event.
- I’m afraid we don’t even have time to record a message, but here is a nice note typed by a sensible member of staff with an e-signature.
- Polite decline.
Needless to say, there is an unacknowledged fifth category for those who write in and raise alarm bells. I wouldn’t say they’re vetted exactly, but one can generally tell the fs from the cs. Enough, perhaps, for anyone to give pause to their Cameo account.
Cleo Watson is a former deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson and co-hosts The Independent’s politics podcast, In The Room, with ex-deputy cabinet secretary Helen MacNamara. New episodes come out every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube
