In British media, a reverse ferret is a sudden reversal in an organisation's editorial or political line on a certain issue. Generally, this will involve no acknowledgement of the previous position. [1]
The term originates in the United Kingdom, from Kelvin MacKenzie's time at The Sun . His preferred description of the role of journalists when it came to public figures was to "stick a ferret up their trousers". This meant making their lives uncomfortable, and the term was based on the Northern England stunt of ferret-legging (where contestants compete to show who can endure a live ferret within their sealed trousers the longest). When it became clear that the tide of public opinion had turned against the paper's line, MacKenzie would burst from his office shouting "Reverse ferret!" [1] [2] [3] The phrase moved into general usage after it became a catchphrase in Private Eye magazine, initially in its 'Street of Shame' section but which quickly spread throughout its more satirical pages.
Republican leaders' affirmation of support for Donald Trump—hitherto derided by Republicans competing with him for nomination as Republican presidential candidate—in October 2016 was described as a reverse ferret by The New York Times . [4] The phrase was used in the UK Parliament at about 17:15 on 28 March 2019 by Mary Creagh in a debate relating to the Government's last-ditch defence of the UK's withdrawal deal with the EU, which had stalled in Parliament through lack of support. [5]
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg used the phrase on Twitter in November 2019, when describing the action of Brexit Party leader, Nigel Farage, in standing down all the party's potential candidates in the December 2019 UK General Election who were to contest seats won by Conservatives in the 2017 UK General Election. [6]
Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, used the phrase in an interview in February 2021, when discussing the easing of England's third national lockdown. He used it while explaining that any steps taken must be taken carefully to avoid a "reverse ferret", suggesting the return of those measures. [7]
Nigel Paul Farage is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton and the Leader of Reform UK since 3 July 2024, having previously been its leader from 2019 to 2021 when it was called the Brexit Party. He also was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009, and 2010 to 2016. Farage served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in 2020. He owns the majority of shares in the company that controls the party, Reform UK Limited.
Laura Juliet Kuenssberg is a British journalist who presents the BBC's flagship Sunday morning politics show.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He was previously Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and Uxbridge and South Ruislip from 2015 to 2023.
On 23 June 2016, a referendum took place in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). The result was to leave, triggering calls to begin the process of the country's withdrawal from the EU commonly termed "Brexit".
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019, with 47,567,752 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. The governing Conservative Party led by the prime minister, Boris Johnson, won a landslide victory with a majority of 80 seats, a net gain of 48, on 43.6 per cent of the popular vote, the highest percentage for any party since the 1979 general election, though with a narrower popular vote margin than that achieved by the Labour Party over the Conservatives at the 1997 general election. This was the second national election to be held in 2019 in the United Kingdom, the first being the 2019 European Parliament election.
The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election. It was held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU countries had voted. This was the United Kingdom's final participation in a European Parliament election before leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020, and was also the last election to be held under the provisions of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 before its repeal under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and was the first European election in the United Kingdom to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections since 1999. This was the first of two national elections that would be held in the United Kingdom in 2019 with the 2019 general election being held six months later in December 2019.
Isabel Oakeshott is a British political journalist.
Richard James Sunley Tice is a British businessman and politician who has been the member of parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness and deputy leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been as the chairman of the party from 2019 to 2021 and again briefly in 2024. He holds five shares in the company that controls the party, the Reform UK Party Limited. Company Since 2023, he has also been Reform UK's energy and foreign policy spokesman. He became the leader of Reform UK in March 2021, but stood down in June 2024 and was succeeded by Nigel Farage.
Dominic Mckenzie Cummings is a British political strategist who served as Chief Adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 24 July 2019 until he resigned on 13 November 2020.
Theresa May's tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 13 July 2016 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government after the resignation of her predecessor David Cameron in the aftermath of the European Union (EU) membership referendum, and ended upon her resignation on 24 July 2019. May's premiership was dominated by Brexit, terrorist attacks in Westminster, the Manchester Arena and London Bridge, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Salisbury poisonings. As prime minister, May served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party.
The Chequers plan, officially known as The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union , was a UK Government white paper concerning Brexit, published on 12 July 2018 by the prime minister, Theresa May. The paper was based on a three-page cabinet agreement from 6 July 2018 and laid out the type of future relationship between the UK and the European Union (EU) that the UK sought to achieve in the Brexit negotiations. At the time it was anticipated that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union on 29 March 2019.
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has served as the party's leader since June 2024 and Richard Tice has served as the party's deputy leader since July 2024. The Party currently has five Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one member of the London Assembly. Following Farage's resumption as leader during the 2024 general election, there was a sharp increase in support for the party. In the election it was the third largest party by popular vote, with 14.3% of the vote share. The party is a limited company with fifteen shares. Farage owns eight of these, giving him a controlling majority. The other shareholders are Tice, who holds five, and Chief Executive Paul Oakden and Party Treasurer Mehrtash A'Zami who each hold one share.
Led By Donkeys is a British political campaign group, established in December 2018 as an anti-Brexit group, but which has also criticised other actions of the Conservative government. Since the group's creation its four founders have been calling out what they call "thermonuclear hypocrisy" and used satire targeted at pro-Brexit politicians. Led By Donkeys' main campaign consists of billboards containing past tweets by pro-Brexit politicians, or quotes presented as tweets. These tweets state the politicians' previous political positions, which according to the group have not stood the test of time.
Alexandra Lesley Phillips is a British journalist and former politician.
Louis Stedman-Bryce is a British care home director, property investor and former politician. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland from 2019 to 2020. He was elected as a Brexit Party candidate but left the party in November 2019 to sit as an independent.
Boris Johnson's tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 24 July 2019 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Theresa May, and ended on 6 September 2022 upon his resignation. Johnson's premiership was dominated by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis. As prime minister, Johnson also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for the Union and Leader of the Conservative Party.
On 3 September 2019, the British Conservative Party withdrew the whip from 21 of its MPs who had supported an emergency motion to allow the House of Commons to undertake proceedings on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill on 4 September. In the hours after the vote, the Chief Whip Mark Spencer informed the rebel MPs that they were no longer entitled to sit as Conservatives. This led to the loss of the Conservative/DUP majority in the Commons.
This article lists the election results of the Brexit Party, known since 2021 as Reform UK, in UK parliamentary elections and in elections to the European Parliament.
The 2019 European Parliament election for the election of the delegation from the United Kingdom was held on 23 May 2019. These were the last elections to the European Parliament to be held before Brexit.