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Elon Musk has privately discussed with his allies how to remove Sir Keir Starmer as UK prime minister before the next general election, according to people familiar with the matter.
Musk, the world's richest man and the main confidant of US President-elect Donald Trump, is investigating how he and his right-wing allies destabilized the UK's Labor government beyond aggressive posts he made on his social media platform X, the people said.
“His point is that Western civilization itself is under threat,” one person added.
Musk sought information on whether it would be possible to build support for alternative British political movements — particularly the right-wing populist Reform Party of Britain — to force a change of prime minister before the next election, according to colleagues.
In the UK's parliamentary system, prime ministers have power because they lead the party with the largest number of MPs.
Several prime ministers in recent decades, including Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, have won large majorities in elections, but have dropped out of Parliament due to declining popularity.
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Last week, he called for a new national inquiry into historical grooming cases involving the sexual exploitation of girls by gangs of mostly British-Pakistani men in several British towns and cities.
Musk accused Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions in England and Wales who dealt with child sexual abuse, of being “complicit” in the rape of Britain.
Protection Secretary Jess Phillips has been branded a “rape genocide apologist” after she rejected a request from Oldham Council for the Home Office to hold a Whitehall-led investigation into the grooming scandal in Greater Manchester.
Starmer strongly rejected Musk's criticism of his time as attorney general. He said on Monday that those “who spread lies and misinformation” do not care about the victims but “about themselves.” Phillips She accused Musk of putting her life in danger.
Matt Goodwin, a right-wing political commentator, said Musk — and other Americans — have become “fascinated” by the grooming gang scandal in the U.K. over the past week, partly because “it’s so horrific.”
But he said he also believes it's because Musk has an “instinctive distrust of the Labor government and Keir Starmer.”
Musk has been contacted for comment.
In a surprising move at the end of the week… Musk He distanced himself from Nigel Farage, dashing the UK reform leader's hopes that the billionaire would make a major donation to his party in the near future.
Musk said that “the Reform Party needs a new leader” and that “Farage doesn't have what it takes.”
Musk has been weighing potential candidates to replace Farage as party leader, including reformist UK MP Robert Lowe, and has looked at existing mechanisms to replace him, according to people familiar with his thinking.
The UK Reform Party has enjoyed a significant rise in support in recent months, with opinion polls indicating that 22 per cent of the public support the party, compared to 14 per cent at the time of the July election.
Meanwhile, Labor received 28 percent, compared to 24 percent for the Conservative Party, according to polls conducted by Politico.
Musk's disagreement with Farage comes after they met at Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago in Florida last month, and the UK reform leader described the serial businessman as a “friend.”
On Tuesday, Farage downplayed the significance of the dispute. He told LBC radio that he will meet Musk later this month, and plans to travel to the United States to attend Trump's inauguration in Washington.
He added: “I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk and I will not do so.”
By contrast, Starmer is not expected to attend Trump's inauguration. Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch is not currently planning to attend.
Additional reporting by Lucy Fisher
