Shock to the System

Shock to the System is the definitive account of the rise of Reform and what came next.

Nigel Farage’s story was meant to end on 23 June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. But his in-and-out journey over the following decade helped finish Theresa May, Rishi Sunak – and potentially the Tory party itself. Now Farage is the bookmakers’ favourite to become next Prime Minister.

With unrivalled access and insight, award-winning political journalist James Heale tells the definitive story of the loyalists, financiers and political operators scheming to put Farage into Downing Street by 2029. Eye-opening, revelatory, and brilliantly told, Shock to the System will explain Reform's extraordinary growth, its chaotic battles with near self-implosion, and assess their prospects as we approach what could be the most significant election for a generation. Crucially it will ask who is Nigel Farage and his Reform Party? What might a Farage cabinet look like? And can the populist party truly remake Britain or will the machine break before it reaches the top?

Shock to the System will take you inside the revolution that could rewrite Britain's future.

About the author

James Heale is the Deputy Political Editor of The Spectator. His first book, Out of the Blue, a biography of Liz Truss, was co-authored with Harry Cole and was named both The Sunday Times and Guardian political book of 2022. He appears regularly on BBC, Sky, GB News and other broadcasters and has written for Tatler, the Washington Post and Mail on Sunday among others. He is recognised as one of the leading Fleet Street voices on Reform UK. Heale has broken numerous scoops on the party and written multiple Spectator covers about Farage’s party such as ‘Nigel’s Gang’ and ‘Nigel Wants You.’