A close adviser to Nigel Farage held a significant yet previously undisclosed role at Redfield & Wilton Strategies, a UK polling firm founded in 2020, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the company. Chris Bruni-Lowe, Farage’s private pollster for many years, was reportedly central to the firm’s polling operations and research activities, despite not being publicly identified as part of the organisation.
Redfield & Wilton was primarily represented by Philip van Scheltjnga, a Harvard graduate and director of research, while Bruno Rodrigues, a London-based lawyer, is the sole listed director. The company’s polls gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, frequently appearing in politically influential publications and newsletters. However, the source of the firm’s polling expertise was not widely known until former employees described Bruni-Lowe’s key role. Bruni-Lowe sometimes used the name “Chris Redfield” internally—a naming convention for email accounts within the firm—leading to some external confusion, including quotes attributed to “Redfield” by the Washington Post.
Sources said Bruni-Lowe was involved in commissioning UK and US voter intention polls and directed wider research projects, including investigations into local council spending. One former employee described Bruni-Lowe as “obsessed” with producing a dossier on local authority performance, which he suggested might be marketed to political parties. This research included freedom of information requests to councils on expenditures such as translation services. Rodrigues stated this project was part of a broader commercial research effort covering numerous categories and affirmed none of the research was provided to Reform UK or Farage.
Despite Bruni-Lowe’s involvement, Rodrigues denied any formal institutional or financial relationship between Redfield & Wilton and Reform UK or Farage. Rodrigues described Bruni-Lowe as a consultant from mid-2020 until late 2022 who returned voluntarily in 2025 to train interns and praised his contributions as “important and highly valued.” He clarified that Bruni-Lowe had never been presented to staff as chief operating officer, a role some internal notes had suggested, attributing day-to-day operations to van Scheltjnga.
Bruni-Lowe, who ran Farage’s 2015 election campaign and advised on subsequent political efforts including the Brexit Party and Reform UK, is regarded as part of Farage’s inner circle. He was reportedly present at social gatherings with Farage, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice, and other associates, including a December 2022 trip to a party donor’s wellness retreat in Thailand. Rodrigues emphasized that personal or social interactions involving company-affiliated individuals do not constitute a corporate affiliation between Redfield & Wilton and Reform UK.
Further controversy has surrounded Dan Jukes, a former senior adviser to Farage who sought to promote Redfield & Wilton’s polling in 2020. Jukes recently resigned as Reform UK’s chief of staff following a scandal linked to purportedly overseas-funded polling commissioned without disclosure of party involvement. Reform UK denies commissioning the work and asserts an internal inquiry cleared officials of legal breaches; the matter remains under police investigation.
The company also conducted polling in countries including Montenegro, Hungary, Hong Kong, and the Bahamas and undertook research into UK public attitudes toward gold and cryptocurrencies. While Rodrigues held the official directorship, sources noted his limited role in daily operations, with van Scheltjnga often representing the firm publicly and writing analysis for major newspapers.
Requests for comment from Bruni-Lowe and van Scheltjnga were not answered. The revelations around Bruni-Lowe’s involvement have raised questions about transparency and the relationship between polling firms and political actors amid ongoing scrutiny of the use of polling data within UK political campaigns.