Another day, and the nation is still obsessing over Nigel Farage. The media is the wind beneath his wings; the two main parties are toppling, flapping helplessly while Reform projects itself as a redeemer and a government in waiting.
The Lib Dems won many resounding victories and the Greens doubled their number of councillors, but the election story is all and only about Farage and Reform UK.
For years now, the upstart party has built up popularity without being properly scrutinised. The result is what psychologists call “hive mind”, usually found in communes whose members confirm one another’s ideas and opinions, and never harbour doubts or accept criticism about “their” truths or grievances, real or imagined. Reform is the same, but on a mass scale.
Such blind allegiances and idolatry must be called out. Facts matter. The ever-smiling millionaire Farage needs to answer some key questions; his voters need to come down to earth.
Let us recall Farage’s insalubrious life story. Farage has, for decades, been accused of making racist and xenophobic remarks.
In 2013, a letter written 30 years prior by a teacher at his old private school, Dulwich College, and obtained by Channel 4, raised concerns over his antics when at school, including allegations of him professing “racist and neo-fascist views” and belting out Hitler Youth songs (all of which Farage denied).
He has expressed open admiration for Enoch Powell, who, for many Britons, was a white nationalist and racist.
Last month, the National Education Union, the UK’s largest teaching union, called Reform UK “far-right and racist”. And its leader, Daniel Kebede, described Farage as “a pound shop Donald Trump”.
You may dismiss this as dangerous wokeism and say he stands up for common people. Tell me how. True, he arouses their passions by claiming he does, parading patriotism and endlessly hounding migrants. But when is this louche leader going to produce policies to lift the least well-off? Or to alleviate the anxieties of the lower middle classes? Demonising migrants won’t bring deliverance.
Other than opposing the winter fuel allowance cut, his record in Parliament is abysmal. Many of his constituents are dismayed by his opposition to workers’ rights, after Reform refused to support the Government’s Employment Rights Bill. Makers of electric vehicles are furious about Farage’s Luddite views on environmental damage.
Then there is Brexit and its detrimental impact on the UK, from our economy to social cohesion. As the political pundit Andrew Rawnsley wrote in 2022: “He played an instrumental role in polarising Britain in the most toxic way and urging this country into its worst strategic mistake since the 1930s. And all because he wanted attention.”
Those who backed Reform recently need to know that Farage is an out and out Trumpian. That his party believes in low taxes for the rich and a decimated welfare system. That he is using common folk as fodder.
He is able to do this because many journalists are not doing their jobs. They should be interrogating Farage over and over on his blind support for Trump and “admiration” of Vladimir Putin. His fan base would be rattled if this was something he was repeatedly and seriously challenged on, because most Britons detest the two leaders.
Another issue inadequately examined is his pledge to create a “British Doge in every county” – Elon Musk’s unit that is burning and slashing the civil service, generating a massive crisis for those reliant on state services. Is that what Reform will push for in the councils they have got into?
What will Reform do about the sewage being dumped in our waters? What are its plans for crumbling schools? Or the NHS? Or the care sector? Imagine Jeremy Paxman interviewing this folk antihero about Reform’s promises to “make Britain great again”. He would never let the smooth-talking operator avoid such serious issues by using populist rhetoric and brash, generic attacks on the main parties.
square YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN
Virginia Giuffre’s plight has a parallel here in the UK
Read MoreThe leaders of the two main parties also have serious questions to answer. Why are Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch so intimidated by tricksy Farage?
What serious, considered, effective and appealing alternatives are they offering to push back against the noisy, hard-right band? Surely they have a duty to protect the centre ground and see off political extremists?
Rather than take on the disruptive and destructive party, the Tories and Labour are recycling Reform populism. The nasty party will define the UK and our democracy will soon be a sham unless we get a coalition of those able and willing to stop the menace. But who will dare take that first step?
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