Elon Musk keen to oust Keir Starmer as UK premier before next election

American technology magnate Elon Musk has privately discussed the possibility of removing Keir Starmer as UK Prime Minister before the next general election, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Musk, the world's richest man and a close confidant of US President-elect Donald Trump, is reportedly exploring how he and his right-wing allies could destabilize the UK Labour government, beyond his aggressive posts on social media platform X, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Financial Times.

“His view is that western civilisation itself is threatened,” one of the sources said.

Musk has been seeking information on whether it is possible to build support for alternative British political movements, particularly the right-wing populist Reform UK party, in an effort to force a change in prime minister before the upcoming election. In the UK’s parliamentary system, the prime minister’s power derives from leading the party with the most MPs.

Several premiers in recent decades, including Sir Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, have won significant majorities only to exit mid-parliament due to declining popularity.

Over the past six months, Musk has shown an increasing interest in British politics, sharply criticizing Starmer’s government. Most recently, Musk called for a new national inquiry into historical grooming cases involving sexual exploitation of girls by gangs of mainly British-Pakistani men in several UK towns and cities.

Musk has accused Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, of being “complicit” in the rape of Britain. He also described Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, as a “rape genocide apologist” after she rejected a request by Oldham council for a Whitehall-led inquiry into the grooming scandal in Greater Manchester.

Starmer strongly rejected Musk’s criticism of his tenure as a prosecutor. On January 6, he said that those “spreading lies and misinformation” were more interested in “themselves” than in the victims. Phillips further accused Musk of endangering her life.

In a surprising turn of events, Musk distanced himself from Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, dashing the party leader’s hopes for a large donation. Musk said, “the Reform party needs a new leader” and added, “Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

Musk has reportedly been exploring potential candidates to replace Farage as the leader of the party, including Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe. He has also inquired about mechanisms to replace Farage, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Reform UK has seen a surge in support recently, with opinion polls suggesting that 22 percent of the public backs the party, up from 14 percent during the July election. In comparison, Labour holds 28 percent, and the Tories are at 24 percent, according to Politico’s poll of polls.

Musk’s rift with Farage follows a meeting between the two at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida last month, where Farage described Musk as a “friend.” However, Farage downplayed the dispute, stating on January 7, “I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk and I’m not going to.” Farage also mentioned that he would be meeting Musk again later this month and planned to travel to the US for Trump’s inauguration in Washington.

By Khagan Isayev