[1] He is active in combating family breakdown and its repercussions, supported Brexit, and is a devout born-again Christian.

[2] Michael has described how he and his sister had a violent and chaotic early childhood, characterised by "poverty, neglect and shame.

"[3] His father, David S. Farmer, a metals trader, was wounded in World War II and died at the age of 40 years old due to his alcoholism when Farmer was aged four, and he and his sister narrowly avoided removal from their mother's care due to her own struggle with alcohol.

[7][9] His son George Farmer who ran unsuccessfully for the then Brexit Party in the 2019 European Parliament election and was CEO of conservative social networking app Parler, and in 2019 married the American political commentator Candace Owens.

[10][11] Farmer is a born-again Christian, having become religious when he was 35 years old, and preaches at the 800-year-old St Helen's Church, Bishopsgate, in the City, around the corner from the London Metal Exchange.

[14][15] He sponsors the Ark All Saints Academy in Camberwell, South London, created with the goal of improving education for disadvantaged children.

[16] He began as a difference account clerk and messenger in AJ Strauss, a London Metal Exchange member firm at which his father had worked, earning eight pounds a week.

[4] The frequency of Farmer's speaking appearances, voting record, and tabling of written questions is above average in the House of Lords.

[29][30] As a parliamentarian Farmer has spoken about family hubs and other measures to ensure families who need it receive early help;[31][32][33] boosting statutory help for children leaving local authority care;[34][35][36] improving children and young people's mental health and wellbeing,[37][38][39] including by reducing family breakdown and regulating access to pornography;[40] enabling upwards social mobility and better life chances;[41][42][43] and addressing the persecution of Christians in North Korea,[44] the Middle East [45][46] and the United Kingdom.

He was commissioned by the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to carry out a review and make a report of how supporting men in prison to have better family and other relationships can reduce reoffending rates.

[10][55][56][57][58][59] In August 2024, Farmer wrote a lengthy thread on X, on the subject of antisemitism, and on Israel's war against Hamas, and in response to comments by his daughter-in-law Candace Owens, saying: "In view of public comments from a high-profile member of my family, I want to put my own views on antisemitism and Israel’s current military campaign in Gaza on public record.

We cannot forget that they have been forced to prosecute this war... Israel [is a] rare example of a democracy in the Middle East, a liberal state governed by the rule of law.