Nigel Farage’s Telegraph Column Ends as Axel Springer Reshapes the Paper

The Nigel Farage Telegraph column is ending. The Reform UK leader will no longer write regularly for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian reported on Monday 2 November 2026, and his name became the most searched term in the United Kingdom on Sunday 8 November as the fallout from the exit continued. The reason for the ending is disputed: sources said the paper’s new German owner, Axel Springer, had decided not to renew the contract, while sources close to Farage said he had resigned.

Farage had written for the broadsheet since 2016, using the column to promote Reform UK and to attack his rivals on immigration. His departure is the latest prominent right-wing exit from the title since Springer took over, and it comes as the company plans mass redundancies across the business, including its newsroom.

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Two Conflicting Accounts of Why the Column Ended

The Guardian understands that Farage’s contract to write regularly for the Telegraph is to end, but the two sides tell different stories about how it happened. Sources suggested Axel Springer, the Telegraph’s new German owner, had decided not to renew the contract. Sources close to Farage said the Reform leader submitted his resignation on Friday 30 October because he did not like the direction the Telegraph was moving in.

Neither account has been confirmed, and the Telegraph declined to comment on individual employment matters. The uncertainty matters because it feeds a wider question about the paper’s political direction under Springer, a question the company has not yet answered in public.

How the Nigel Farage Telegraph Column Worked

Farage did not write a fixed number of columns a week or month, but contributed regularly and was paid a retainer. The register of MPs’ financial interests puts that pay at about £4,000 a month, a figure that underlines how the column was a formal commercial arrangement rather than an occasional guest slot.

His most recent column, published the week before the news broke, condemned the first Budget of Andy Burnham’s premiership and pledged to scrap benefits for foreigners, abolish net zero targets and slash foreign aid. Earlier columns urged Telegraph readers to vote Reform and help him get the country back, warning that it could be their last chance.

Another column defended Reform’s acceptance of two unprecedented £36 million donations from crypto billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. Farage wrote that both donors had stated plainly they wanted nothing in return — no peerage, knighthood or government contracts — and simply believed Britain needed change and Reform UK was the only party prepared to deliver it.

Mass Redundancies Reshape the Paper Under Axel Springer

The end of Farage’s column comes as Axel Springer has set out plans for mass redundancies across the Telegraph business, including the newsroom. Its sports and culture sections appear to have been hit hard, and more than 100 people are said to be facing the axe before Christmas, almost 20 percent of editorial and commercial staffing.

The cuts angered staff after earlier suggestions from Mathias Döpfner, the billionaire chief executive of Axel Springer, that the titles could not cut their way to growth. Many expect the cuts to be accompanied by plans to grow the Telegraph’s operations in the United States, though many staff have been confused by the strategy set out so far.

Springer is hoping to use the title to make inroads into the US market as a centre-right, pro-free-speech challenger to the Wall Street Journal. That ambition sits uneasily alongside the redundancies, and it has fuelled speculation about whether the paper will shift its political stance as it chases an American audience.

Pearson, Halligan and the Other Departures

Farage is not the only prominent right-wing voice leaving the title. It emerged last week that Allison Pearson, a writer firmly on the right wing of the Telegraph’s regular columnists, was understood to be in negotiations about leaving. Her departure has angered supporters on the right, with former Brexit Party politician Alex Phillips, now a presenter on TalkTV, describing the Telegraph as a political bloodbath.

It also appears the Telegraph will stop publishing Pearson’s podcast Planet Normal, which she co-hosts with economics writer Liam Halligan. Halligan announced that his Sunday Telegraph column had also been scrapped as part of Axel Springer’s cuts, making him the second confirmed columnist to go after Farage.

Reform UK’s Close Ties to the Telegraph Under Strain

There was concern from some inside the Telegraph over its links to Reform UK, a party the title has platformed heavily even though it has traditionally been closely associated with the Conservative party. Some staff were uneasy about Reform’s repeated use of the Telegraph for “spoiler” stories, a media tactic designed to pre-empt a problematic story by placing a more sympathetic version with a rival title.

Some insiders also disapproved of a piece about a journalist travelling to Britain on a small boat. It later emerged that the journalist in question was a Reform member and activist. The paper also features columns by former Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott, partner of Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice and an open supporter of many Reform UK policies.

Immigration sits at the centre of Reform’s pitch, and Farage’s final column put it front and centre by pledging to scrap benefits for foreigners. The government, meanwhile, has moved in its own direction with its earned settlement reform, doubling the standard wait for permanent stay to 10 years for most migrant workers.

The Finances Behind the Shake-Up

Telegraph Media Group’s latest accounts showed it had slumped to a £4 million loss last year as a result of legal fees connected to its lengthy ownership saga and the revaluing of assets. Its revenue had also fallen slightly from 2024 to £273.2 million.

The accounts of Telegraph Media Group Holdings also revealed that the business had made an underlying pre-tax operating profit of about £48 million. The gap between the headline loss and the underlying profit captures why the new owners say change is needed — and why staff question whether cutting editorial jobs is the way to deliver it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Nigel Farage leaving the Telegraph?
His regular column is ending under the paper’s new owner, Axel Springer. The Guardian reported the ending on 2 November 2026, and Farage’s name topped UK Google Trends on 8 November as coverage of the exit continued.

Was Farage sacked or did he resign?
That has not been established. Sources suggested Springer decided not to renew his contract, while sources close to Farage said he submitted his resignation on Friday 30 October because he disliked the paper’s direction. The Telegraph declined to comment on individual employment matters.

How much was Farage paid for his Telegraph column?
About £4,000 a month, according to the register of MPs’ financial interests. He was paid a retainer and did not write a fixed number of columns a week or month.

Who else is leaving the Telegraph?
Allison Pearson is understood to be in negotiations about leaving, Liam Halligan’s Sunday Telegraph column has been scrapped, and the Planet Normal podcast she co-hosts with Halligan also appears set to stop. More than 100 jobs are said to be at risk across the business.

Why is Nigel Farage trending on 8 November 2026?
His name was the most searched term in the United Kingdom on Sunday 8 November, according to Google Trends data, as the Guardian’s reporting on his Telegraph exit and the wider cuts at the paper continued to draw attention six days after the story first broke.

Myth-Busting: What the Exit Does and Does Not Mean

Myth: Farage was sacked by the Telegraph.
Reality: the reason for the ending is disputed and unresolved. The Guardian reported two conflicting accounts — non-renewal by Axel Springer, or resignation by Farage — and neither side’s version has been confirmed.

Myth: Farage has quit politics or left Reform UK.
Reality: he remains leader of Reform UK. Only his regular Telegraph column is ending; nothing in the reporting suggests any change to his political role.

Myth: The Telegraph is closing down.
Reality: the paper continues under Axel Springer, which is cutting jobs while planning to grow the title’s operations in the United States. The cuts are large, but the title is not shutting.