Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, met with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey to deliver a blunt message: kill the digital pound. The meeting, which took place in September 2025, confirmed that the central bank’s CBDC project is still moving forward, despite growing political resistance from one of Britain’s most polarizing political figures.
Farage has been waging a public campaign against the Bank of England’s retail digital pound for months. His objections center on what he describes as the potential for state surveillance through digital ID systems, a framing that positions the CBDC less as a payment innovation and more as a tool of government control.
From skeptic to crusader
At the Zebu Live event in London in October 2025, Farage stated he was prepared to go to prison to prevent the digital pound from being implemented.
He expressed “total horror” at the concept of a state-controlled digital currency.
