Reform UK has lured a leading security and foreign policy analyst from the Conservatives to provide advice to the party and its leader, Nigel Farage, in what appears to be Reform’s latest move aimed at professionalising party operations.
Dr Alan Mendoza, who heads up the Henry Jackson Society, a trans-Atlantic foreign affairs and security think tank focused on advancing liberal values and giving “two cheers for capitalism”, will join Reform UK as its chief adviser on global affairs.
Mendoza has been a staunch critic of China’s influence and of the Iranian regime, taking particular aim at its advancements in nuclear armament.
He has also fiercely opposed Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine and autocratic rule, having worked with the Global Magnitsky Awards to resist dictatorships and support democracy.
Mendoza’s appointment may be seen as Farage’s rebuff against claims he has taken a softer position on Russia has been ambiguous towards NATO after former Reform Wales leader Nathan Gill admitted taking bribes to make pro-Russia statements in the European Parliament.
The move also represents yet another councillor defection from the Tories to Reform. As a representative for Abbey Road, Mendoza will work with the party’s justice spokesperson Laila Cunningham at Westminster City Council.
Reform UK’s new hire
In a statement Mendoza, who has been sanctioned by Moscow and Tehran, said that Reform provided an answer to the UK’s “abject crisis”.
“At home and abroad, our leaders seem determined to chart a course of national and international decline,” he said.
“But the British people deserve better than this. And in Reform UK we finally have a party who will put our interests first, and ensure that our tomorrow is better than our today.
“This is the party that I’m proud to join. This is the party that will bring change that the entire nation can be proud of, and which will restore us to the first rank of global powers where we belong.”
Farage said Mendoza, who has written for City AM, was an “excellent addition” to the party.
“His intricate understanding of foreign policy and experience in global affairs is invaluable,” Farage said.
“I look forward to working closely with him as we continue to shape our policy platform in the months and years ahead.”
Mendoza and Farage are likely to have frequently crossed paths in recent months. Both Reform and the Henry Jackson Society share the same office location in Millbank Tower, a five minute walk from the Palace of Westminster.