Farage Evasions and a Trojan Horse

 I was hoping not to write about Nigel Farage (NF) and Reform UK again during this election campaign. After my last three postings, I began to think that was enough. However, NF's appearance on the BBC Question Time Leaders Special on June 27th has changed my mind for me. As everyone knows, NF was asked the highly relevant question:

"What is it about you and your party that attracts racists and extremists, whether you say you want them or not?"

The relevance stems from the undercover Channel 4 report from Clacton which saw a certain Reform Campaigner, Andrew Parker, make some highly offensive statements. As the Independent said, quoting Parker: 

"... army recruits should use migrants arriving by small boats in Kent as “target practice”, and labelling Islam a “disgusting cult” in widely condemned comments.
Referring to Mr Sunak, who is of Indian descent, he said: “I’ve always been a Tory voter. But what annoys me is that f****** p*** we’ve got in. What good is he? You tell me, you know. He’s just wet. F****** useless.”

As is known, Parker has been "outed" as an actor, and NF seized on this point. The BBC said: 

"Mr Farage argued that he had done more to drive out the far-right than any living person in British politics.
"I took on the BNP just over a decade ago. I said to their voters, if this is a protest vote but you don't support their racist agenda, don't vote for them, vote for me, destroyed them."

He repeated claims made earlier the same day that Mr Parker was an actor with an alter ego and suggested it was "a political setup of astonishing proportions". Quoted by the BBC again, NF lamented:

"This was designed to hurt us, and sadly some people believe it."

NF's claims about the destruction of the BNP are highly questionable, but we can look at them later. What is of interest here is the fact that no-one in the media has noticed: Farage did not answer the question. He was not asked about Andrew Parker, he was asked why racists and extremists like joining Reform UK. Instead of trying to answer this, he threw down a dead cat, and got everyone talking about a political set-up.

As well he might. Hope not Hate has published "Far Right Rally behind Farage and Reform" , which details how all the far-Right groups in the UK have lent their support to the Reform UK electoral campaign. Starting with Tommy Robinson:

" Stephen Lennon (AKA Tommy Robinson), has said “Nigel Farage’s winning over the people and he’s putting across our arguments to the nation very skilfully and in a great way. There is only one option at this election and that is Reform UK.”

Paul Golding of Britain First agrees with this:

“In the General Election on July the fourth vote Reform because they are taking a sledgehammer to the two party system."

By far the most interesting contribution, though, comes from Mark Collett, leader of the openly neo-Nazi Patriotic Alternative party. Bearing in mind Farage's claim to have destroyed the BNP, Hope not Hate reports: 

"Collet goes on to explain how the British National Party’s (BNP) old election leaflets “were actually markedly tamer than Farage’s current rhetoric,” arguing that, “the same man who boasts about destroying the BNP is now standing on a platform that is more explicitly about demographics than the BNP did at its height.”

Collet has been working on leaflets for the English Democrats (a tiny bunch of extremists) in which he, like NF, advocates the stopping of refugee boats and leaving the ECHR. With no doubt a huge smirk Collett is quoted as saying: 

"I’ve spent the last few weeks working on election leaflets for a number of nationalist candidates. […] These leaflets read ‘Deport All Illegal Immigrants’. It’s almost like Nigel has been aware of this and, to put it politely, is copying our homework. If one was to be less polite they might say he stole our policy.”

Despite this apparent plagiarism, Collett goes on to tell people in constituencies where no ED candidates are standing: “I suggest you vote Reform and help them to complete the wipeout of the Conservative Party.” 

Clearly, there is a great deal to attract right-wing extremists to Reform UK. Were NF to be confronted with this, however, he would probably attribute it to a sting by the establishment press. 

Another matter not noticed is that while NF focussed on the apparent setup with Andrew Parker, nobody pointed out that he wasn't the only Reform UK member in the Channel 4 report to express objectionable views. There was a certain Mr Jones, who told the undercover reporter why Clacton had been chosen for NF: 

“Have a look around. Proper England. You know what I mean? Proper English. Not like in London when you’re a foreigner in your own country, and if you say ‘hello’ to someone they look like they’re about to f****** knife you in the face”.

Mr Jones expressed this violently homophobic view when a police car passed by: 

"You see that f****** degenerate flag on the front bonnet? What are the old bill doing promoting that crap? They should be out catching nonces not promoting the f******.”

NF did not mention this man, nor did anyone quiz him about the man's homophobic outbursts. NF got off lightly.

Nor does NF seem to have been tackled about his claim that he destroyed the British National Party, which is patently absurd. James O'Brien, in "How They Broke Britain", compared NF to the BNP leader, Nick Griffin. Griffin tried to make the BNP more electable by moderating the party line. As Wikipedia says:  

"The BNP replaced Tyndall's policy of compulsory deportation of non-whites to a voluntary system whereby non-whites would be given financial incentives to emigrate. It downplayed biological racism and stressed the cultural incompatibility of different racial groups."

Interestingly, Griffin appeared on Question Time in 2009 and made a similar claim to Farage's claim made on Thursday, again on Question Time, that he had striven hard to keep right-wing extremists from dominating his party. James O'Brien says that Griffin wasn't quite "class" enough to carry this off, and NF is setting out to succeed where Griffin failed, with broadly similar policies, but more polished presentation. The BNP collapsed through internal dissension, not because of any words of Farage. As Wikipedia says:

"  By 2010, there was discontent among the party's grassroots, a result of the change to its white-only membership policy and rumours of financial corruption among its leadership. Some defected to the National Front".  Or, perhaps, UKIP?

   But it could be that NF and Griffin have more in common than similar policies. Griffin recently claimed on X that Farage was once a member of the National Front. Farage has not tried to refute this, despite being challenged by Searchlight magazine. NF was in the NF? It's not beyond the bounds of possibility. 

My own view on Reform UK is that it functions as a Trojan Horse for the extreme Right. The Reform UK leadership might deny this, but it is a fact that extremists are only expelled when they are exposed in the press, or by anti-fascist groups. It's my belief that the numbers expelled are only the tip of the iceberg. There will be more and some will be in deep cover, seeking to get into positions where they can influence policy and strategy. The less discreet ones will be expelled when they step publicly out of line - and only then. This has happened on the Left as well. In the 1930s, until the early 60s, the Communist Party in Liverpool infiltrated the local Labour Party, sometimes even becoming local councillors. "Entryism", as it came to be called, was practised by Militant in the 70s, again targeting the Labour Party. We are seeing it again with Reform UK, and I do not believe, like the Tories say, that a vote for Reform UK is a vote for Labour. Rather, it is a vote for the extreme Right, no matter how many election candidates Reform UK disown.

Lastly, I would like to say that I believe my words of 12th November to have been accurate. Since NF re-entered the political scene, the campaign has got nastier. As Rishi Sunak said of the Channel 4 report:

"My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing 'P***'. It hurts and it makes me angry and I think he has some questions to answer.
And I don't repeat those words lightly"

I am no Tory, but I sympathise completely with the Prime Minister and his family. It is hurtful and disgusting and is probably being used again by racists towards people of South Asian origin. When Farage was asked on Question Time, he refused to make any apologies. NF remains NF in spirit. And political life has got nastier.

I wonder if the man who snapped is now a Reform UK member? It could have been Nigel Farage. I found this photo on Facebook. It might have been published in 2016, but it rings true today.

Nigel Raises the Level of Nastiness in UK Politics

 

Well, I was surprised. Nigel Farage (NF) had said that he wasn't standing for Parliament, then he announced that he was changing his mind and became the Reform UK candidate for Clacton. He is perfectly entitled to do this, of course, but, at the same time, I wondered if the nasty election campaign that I predicted on May 23rd would turn out to become even nastier. Well, it looks as if I was right to expect things to turn more unpleasant. What I did not expect was the fact that some of the nastiness would be directed at NF himself. As the picture above shows, he has been the target for violent attacks, and could well be the victim of more.

As we know, on June 4th, NF had a milkshake thrown over him after leaving the Clacton branch of Wetherspoons. As the BBC reported:  

"The Reform UK leader was leaving a pub after carrying out media interviews when a woman appeared to hurl a McDonald's banana milkshake over his face and suit jacket. Essex Police said a 25-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault".

And, while visiting Barnsley yesterday, someone threw cement at NF while he toured the town on his battlebus. The BBC again: 

"Police said Josh Greally, 28, had been charged with using threatening, abusive, insulting words and behaviour with intent to cause fear. He has been released on bail to appear before Barnsley Magistrates' Court on 26 June".

Farage, as might be expected, has received a good deal of sympathy for these attacks from the right-wing press - the Daily Express in particular. This less-than-impartial organ gave NF a lengthy interview yesterday:

"The Brexit champion said physical attacks are the next stage of a “cancel culture” by a “violent left wing mob” hoping to silence him...“This was just an attempt to shut me down... If I give in to these people, who the hell else is going to stand up? I’m sometimes brave to the point of total stupidity. I’m very worried about it... But I’m not going to stop. My modus operandi may have to change... You might agree with me or disagree with me, that’s fine. I don’t mind if someone shouts something rude at me in the street, I will probably shout it back. But when it comes to violence, that actually poses a threat to the entire democratic process".

Well, I hate to agree with "The Brexit Champion" about anything, but violence against politicians is deplorable. In recent years, we have seen two MPs murdered and abuse, threats and the possibility of violent assault against politicians of all parties has increased over the years. This situation is so bad that some MPs have resigned over fears for their, and their families', safety. One example is that of Mike Freer, who announced in February that he will be standing down after the next election. The BBC reports:

 

"A minister says he will stand down at the next general election after a series of death threats and an arson attack on his constituency office. Mike Freer, a justice minister and also north London MP, said he avoided being murdered "by the skin of my teeth" by Ali Harbi Ali, who went on to kill Southend West MP Sir David Amess. Mr Freer has represented Finchley and Golders Green since 2010. He said he could no longer put his family through the worry of his safety".

Having said this, and while I condemn all such violence, I have to reflect upon the fact that, back in 2016, as The Mirror reported:  

"Nigel Farage has claimed he has won Brexit “without a single bullet being fired”. The Ukip leader’s highly inflammatory comments at a Leave.EU victory party in London come just a week after Remain-backing Labour MP Jo Cox was shot dead".

Those words of NF should haunt him now, especially when he is the object of political violence himself. We should also remember that NF was the last politician to express condolences for the death of Jo Cox - when he did, it was almost as an afterthought. 

Besides this, it is galling to learn that NF thinks that he is some kind of martyr for free speech. He told the Express: 

"The whole point of democracy is you can have very, very vigorous disagreements. But there has to be a line. The last couple of days have crossed that line.”

NF's hypocrisy on the issue of free speech is appalling. As Hope not Hate has pointed out:

"...there are multiple examples in which we see his hypocrisy and his misinterpretation of free speech, and where he supports speech that would be categorised as hateful".

One example given is that of the toppling of a statue:  

 In response to the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, Farage produced a video in which he claimed that the toppling of the statue by BLM protestors was abhorrent and that he has put himself on the line speaking out against this behaviour, saying for “Those of us who have tried to speak out…free speech is under threat”. Again ignoring the disparity in whose speech is attended to, Farage made no mention of the longstanding campaign in Bristol prior to these events to remove the statue and other uses of Colston’s name".

And, in a nutshell: 

"Emblematic of the populist radical right, Nigel Farage seems to follow a “free speech” tradition that allows for the amplifying of right wing voices – which are supposedly of ‘the people’ – and the silencing those voices with whom they disagree – i.e. the ‘elite’ and, just as often, marginalised groups".

Drawing to a conclusion, we must note that NF has contributed to the growing nastiness of this general election campaign by launching an apparently curious attack on Rishi Sunak for leaving the D-Day commemoration events early. The Daily Mail reports:

"Mr Farage told the BBC Mr Sunak 'should have known in his heart, that it was right to be there'. He claimed the Tory leader 'doesn't really care about our history, he doesn't really care – frankly – about our culture'. Challenged over the comments, he insisted he had been talking about Mr Sunak's 'class' rather than his heritage as the son of first-generation immigrants. Mr Farage denied any racial element, saying that '40 per cent of our contribution' in the two world wars 'came from the Commonwealth".

Please note: NF denied any racial element. Anyone familiar with NF's political history will know this to be complete rubbish. This is a man  who said, in 2014, that parts of Britain were “unrecognisable” and “like a foreign land”. He had also claimed he felt “awkward” when he heard people speaking other languages on the train. NF is also an admirer of Enoch Powell and claimed in 2008 that “While his (Powell's) language may seem out of date now, his principles remain good and true”. And he has other friends on the extreme Right. including Marine le Pen in France and Beatrix von Storch of the Alternative for Germany party. NF's claims to making a non-racist comment on Sunak are completely absurd. 

I believe NF's true aim to have several facets. Firstly, he is seeking to appeal to the avowedly racist voters, who will doubtless applaud his attack on Sunak out of sheer hatred of coloured people. NF knows he cannot do this directly, so he delivered his mealy-mouthed cop-out about the Commonwealth in WW2. He does not say whether they understood "our" culture or not, when they were fighting on our side. He also wants to encourage the elements in the Tory party who are doubtless working behind the scenes to ditch Sunak should he lose the election, which seems very likely. Now, a Tory debacle could well see the Conservatives move further to the Right. Should that happen, NF will be waiting in the wings. In a Telegraph article on Tuesday, one Alison Pearson declared: 

"You know, I think Nigel Farage is already the leader of the Conservatives. He certainly makes a better, more convincing Tory than Rishi Sunak. The polls bear that out. According to the latest findings from strategic consultancy Redfield & Wilton, Reform is in second place (behind Labour) with voters aged 45-54 and 55-64 (that’s the age group of the Tory “base”) and is even second among 18-24s. The Conservatives are in a miserable fifth place with that younger age bracket".

I know that some people say we should not take NF and Reform UK too seriously. After all, they say, NF has never been an MP and Reform UK have only one MP in Parliament. But it is a mistake to underestimate them; people did that with the NSDAP in Germany in the 1920s. Reform UK party has surged ahead in the latest polls, and are, as of now, just one point behind the Conservatives. 

So what do we do? Well, we oppose them with argument, exposes and non-violent action. Let's hope Nigel Farage lives to see his electoral dreams turn to ash.