Nigel Farage wants to transform British politics. He faces a key test this week

SCUNTHORPE, England (AP) — Tucking into tea and cake in the spring sunshine, Nigel Farage glows with anticipation and big ambitions.

The man who helped drag Britain out of the European Union wants to displace the Conservatives as country’s main party on the right, challenge left-of-center Labour for power and ultimately reach the prime minister’s office.

That seems like a longshot for the hard-right politician whose Reform UK party holds just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. But Reform has surged in opinion polls, and sees Thursday's local elections in England as a pivot point in its quest to transform British politics.

“This is one of the big hurdles that we have to clear en route to the next general election,” Farage told The Associated Press about the upcoming vote at a cafe in the steel town of Scunthorpe. And when that national election comes, "we intend to completely change British history and win it.”

Reform got about 14% of the vote in last year’s national election, but polls now suggest its support equals or surpasses that of governing Labour and the opposition Conservatives.

The party blends Farage’s longstanding political themes — strong borders, curbing immigration — with policies reminiscent of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Farage says he plans “a DOGE for every county,” inspired by Elon Musk’s controversial spending-slashing agency.

“We have a plan,” Farage said. “You bring the auditors in, find out why all this money is being spent on consultants and agency workers, end work from home — boom, gone, done, over.”

The party appeals to many working-class voters who once backed Labour, and to social conservatives long drawn to the Tories. Some Conservatives are already suggesting an electoral pact between the two parties on the right for the next national election, due by 2029.

Farage laughs off the idea, saying that the Conservative Party “will be so small by then it won’t matter.”

The party has momentum, and it showed during Farage's election walkabout in the Scunthorpe suburb of Ashby with Andrea Jenkyns, Reform’s candidate for mayor of the Greater Lincolnshire region of east-central England. Reform hopes to win the race and also gain hundreds of local council seats and a House of Commons lawmaker on Thursday.

High school students stopped to ask for selfies, while a passing van driver honked and shouted, “Go on, Nigel lad!” Farage has a level of recognition most politicians can only dream of. He also has a phalanx of security guards that is strikingly large for a British politician. In the past, he has been doused with a milkshake and pelted with cement on the campaign trail.

Farage found support from local businesspeople, including bakery owner Andrea Blow.

“The last six months has been really hard for small businesses. Everyone’s feeling the pinch,” Blow said, citing the rising cost of ingredients like chocolate and butter, a hike in payroll taxes for employers imposed by the Labour government and hard times in Scunthorpe, a town trying to shake off decades of post-industrial decline.

Scunthorpe’s fate is tied to a hulking British Steel plant that was long the town’s main source of jobs and still employs about 3,000 people. It was under threat of closure by its Chinese owner, Jingye Group, until the Labour government stepped in to pay for supplies of raw materials to keep the steel furnaces running. The plant’s long-term future remains uncertain.

Farage, a lifelong free-marketeer, now advocates nationalizing British Steel on the grounds of protecting jobs and national security. Critics say that’s evidence his views shift with the political winds.

The rise of Reform worries both Labour and the Conservatives.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said a strong result for Farage’s party on Thursday might scare both Labour and the Conservatives into toughening their stance on immigration and other issues to try to “become Reform-light.”

He said that would be a mistake.

“If we look all around Europe, the idea that you are best off tackling these radical right insurgencies by copying some of their policies and some of their rhetoric isn’t borne out by reality,” Bale said. “If you present people with a copy, they tend to prefer the original.”

Farage is Reform’s biggest asset, but he also is a divisive figure who has said many migrants come to the U.K. from cultures “alien to ours.”

Critics say Farage stoked tensions by inaccurately suggesting police were withholding information about a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three children dead in July. False claims that the attacker was an asylum-seeker sparked days of rioting across England.

Reform has also been dogged by some of the infighting associated with the previous parties Farage led, UKIP and the Brexit Party, though it has sought to become a slicker and more professional organization.

Farage's status as Trump’s most prominent U.K. supporter could also have a downside, since polls suggest the US. president is broadly unpopular in Britain.

Farage distances himself from some Trump policies, including trade tariffs and a desire for the U.S. to make Canada its 51st state.

“I’m a friend of his, and our interests are similar, but they’re not symmetrical," he said.

His argument that the U.K.'s net-zero carbon emission goals are “lunacy” also could limit Reform’s appeal to younger voters.

“They’re a party that thrives on division,” said 37-year-old Joe Richards, who plans to vote Labour in Scunthorpe and claimed Reform offers simplistic solutions to complex problems. "I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

But another resident, retiree Tyna Ashworth, 71, said she is “willing to give Reform a go.”

“A lot of the politicians, they don’t listen. ... They couldn’t live on my pension," she said. "I’ve worked 50 years for this country, and I’ve worked hard. And I think I deserve to be able to live a decent life.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gestures as he campaigns with Reform UK mayoral candidate Andrea Jenkyns in Scunthorpe, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Reform UK mayoral candidate Andrea Jenkyns look towards the media as they have a cream tea break during their election campaign in Scunthorpe, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage crosses the road with Reform UK mayoral candidate Andrea Jenkyns as they campaign together in Scunthorpe, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage shows off a model of a British tank given to him during campaigning with Reform UK mayoral candidate Andrea Jenkyns in Scunthorpe, England, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)