Nigel Farage claims to be on the side of British workers – yet he invests his riches in global crypto, where power is concentrated among a small group of wealthy individuals
Britain is a land of neighbours... and proud of it!
Don't believe the hate hype, writes Kevin Maguire, we can beat Reform and build a vivid, hopeful future with the real British values of decency and fair play.
The devil is said to find work for idle hands and divisive Nigel Farage and Reform UK are a political machine cynically manufacturing despair in the hope of reaping rich dividends by turning folk against each other.
Headed by the grinning snake oil salesman and leading UK opinion polls, Farage and giddy Hard Right acolytes contemplate high office and enforcing iron rule, yet many of Harold Wilson's long weeks of Harold Macmillan's unexpected events await before a General Election unlikely before the first half of 2029.
So Nige may never peek through curtains he's mentally measuring for No 10 because victory is, mercifully, far from assured as accountability starts and skepticism rises.
Reform's ramshackle electoral coalition is already showing signs of fracturing, one recent poll putting the party down to 24% – barely ahead of the Conservatives on 20 and Labour 19. Everything is to play for and Reform, as Lance Corporal Jones in Dad's Army would yell, won't like it up 'em.
Trump fan boy Farage's love for deranged Donald is an Achilles heel in a Britain revolted by the White House madman's economic punishment beatings for the USA's democratic long-standing allies. Ditto applause for Vlad the Invader, Farage once naming Putin as the politician he most admired. Then there are the local authorities run by Reform, proving no good advert for the party by hiking council tax they vowed to freeze or cut while slashing services.
His Kenneth Williams' infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me reaction to mounting evidence Farage was a revolting schoolboy, the wailing leader dismissing 34 contemporaries from Dulwich College alleging youthful Hitler veneration, prompt worrying thoughts about adulthood.
The two areas where Reform are most vulnerable, however, are the economy and hope. The economy because the city slicker isn't credible on wages, taxes, living standards, spending, trade and debt as he busily ditches and distances himself and Reform from his and their own wealthfare-for-the-rich policies.
And hope is kryptonite for a party peddling grievances, expert at inciting hate and playing the race card. Rivals preaching decency and presenting a compelling, vivid future are Reform's worst enemies.
Farage may look as if he has one foot in No 10 but he's there to be tripped up and pushed out. We're a land of neighbours, not an island of strangers.
Fact-checking the fibbers
Robert Jenrick
Smug Robert Jenrick berated people for fare dodging in his old dead-end job as Tory Shadow Justice Secretary. He said he hoped to "shame people into action" and posted a message on X saying: "Sadiq Khan is driving a proud city into the ground. Lawbreaking is out of control." (Fact: London has the lowest murder rate in over a decade.)
Has Robert forgotten that he unlawfully approved a planning application for a Tory donor, to help him avoid £40m in taxes — which would have been paid to the poorest borough in London. Is it OK for your rich friends to avoid paying taxes Robert? We all pay them.
Hypocrisy on steroids is what this stunt is (not a typo — stunt).
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Farage built his brand on his Trump bromance. Now 80% of Britons view Trump unfavourably and 64% see America negatively. The relationship that once helped him is becoming his biggest liability.
There's a lot to say about Reform. A lot of gaps to talk about. Like the gap between what they say and what they do.
Spoiler: Most people get it wrong