Tag: Nigel Farage

Railing against a “political class” who he said had betrayed the people of Britain, Farage claimed to more than a thousand supporters on Clacton pier that what was at stake was not just Brexit, but whether or not Britain was a democratic country. There would be uproar and they would be calling for the UN to be sent in … and yet it’s happening in our own country,” said Farage, who was introduced as “the godfather, the ‘guvnor’ of Brexit”. “So what would Brexit do for Clacton? It would make us proud of who we are again and you can’t put a price on that,” he said. Back in 2014, Farage had tucked into a McDonald’s McFlurry as he and a beaming Douglas Carswell strolled through the streets of the town after the latter had become the first Tory MP to defect to Ukip, then a rising force in British politics. “Here you are, one of the biggest leave towns in the country and yet you are represented by a remainer. Whether its considerable leave vote breaks in any number during the European elections either for Farage’s Brexit party or for Ukip – now led by Gerard Batten who has forged explicit links to far-right activists such as Tommy Robinson – remains to be seen, however. Michael and Janet Smith, former Ukip and Conservative voters, had driven down from Ipswich after learning of the rally on Facebook. They believed Farage’s party would win out over Ukip in the battle for Brexit supporters’ votes. “Ukip have been taken up with … how can I say this?

Nigel Farage’s Brexit party has unveiled a former revolutionary communist who once supported Irish republicanism and opposed the Good Friday peace deal as one of five new candidates for the European elections. Claire Fox, who now styles herself as a libertarian and is a panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze programme, told the launch event she most likely only agreed with Farage on one issue – Brexit. Claire Fox: infamy's child Read more “I’ve spent my whole life fighting for leftwing causes, so I can tell you, no one is more surprised than me to be standing as candidate for Nigel Farage’s Brexit party,” said Fox, a former member of the Revolutionary Communist party who is still involved in some of its successor organisations, such as the Academy of Ideas, which she heads. “To be honest, Nigel and I are unlikely to agree on a range of issues – workers, women’s rights, immigration, public services,” Fox told the launch event in Westminster. Earlier, Farage had promised his organisation would be about more than Brexit, saying it was “about changing politics for good, changing the shape of our political parties”. He added: “Please don’t think for one moment that the Brexit party is here just to get a process vote on 23 May – far from it, 23 May for us is just the beginning. “We have a two-party system and those parties now serve nothing, frankly, but themselves.” Farage castigated Labour for, as he put it, reneging on its promise to support Brexit, saying: “We’re going to go after that Labour vote in a very big way.” The other candidates unveiled were Lance Forman, a strongly pro-Brexit businessman who heads a family fish company; James Glancy, an ex-soldier who is now an environmental activist; Matthew Patten, a charity executive; and Christina Jordan, a former nurse described by the party as a community leader. Recent polls have suggested Farage’s new party, formed after he left Ukip over its switch to a hard-right, anti-Islam stance, could win the most votes if the UK takes part in European elections on 23 May. Before Easter, the party announced its first five candidates, among them Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Richard Tice, a property millionaire and long-time Farage ally who will also chair the party.

The ex-UKIP leader is taking over from Catherine Blaiklock, who quit over what he said were "horrible and intolerant" comments on Twitter about Islam. Mr Farage said the party was currently a "virtual" entity but would mobilise at short notice if the UK ended up taking part in European elections. He said Leave voters "betrayed" by the political classes needed a voice. Mr Farage led UKIP three times over the course of 20 years but quit the party earlier this year, accusing its leadership of associating with the far right and condoning Islamophobic views. Mr Farage said he was unaware of Ms Blaiklock's Twitter history when they set up the party together and she was right to stand down for posting "angry, intolerant stuff". "She was never intended to be a long-term leader," he told Radio 4's Today. He said the Brexit Party would field candidates from across the political spectrum in the event that the UK failed to reach a Brexit agreement before the latest deadline and ended up taking part in European elections in May. "It is at the moment a virtual party," Mr Farage said. "It is a website. We haven't even launched... Our trust has been betrayed by politicians and if we fight these elections, it will be a chance to say what we think."

There were chaotic scenes as a march led by Nigel Farage left Sunderland to protest against perceived attempts to betray the will of the people over Brexit. Marchers chanted “we’re marching for our freedom” and some described Farage as a great statesman and a fantastic leader. “If you see what has been happening in parliament this week, we may well not be leaving the EU. If politicians think they can walk all over us, then we’re going to march back and tell them they can’t. The march’s website states: “It is now clear the Westminster elite are preparing to betray the will of the people over Brexit. To counter this, Leave Means Leave are undertaking a peaceful protest to demonstrate the depth and breadth of popular discontent with the way Brexit has been handled.” Marchers gathered in the rain from the early morning for the first leg, which will take them 20 miles to Hartlepool. As Farage arrived he was met by a large group of reporters and TV crews. A row soon broke out with counter-protesters who turned up carrying red love hearts with messages including “we love workers’ rights” and “we love to have a say”. One set off blue and yellow flares , the colours of the EU, as protesters chanted “exit Brexit”. Read more Barry Lockey, who arrived in Sunderland carrying a flag with the message “Get Britain out: Time to leave the EU”, said that the event was about supporting democracy.

Brexiters lobby for European veto of article 50 extension Read more Verhofstadt claimed Farage wanted an extension to article 50 in order to keep Britain in the EU, so he can continue to have his MEP’s salary and transfer it into an offshore company. The former Ukip leader later told the Guardian: “Mr Verhofstadt is just plain wrong. I have never been the beneficiary of any offshore company.” As well as having had a show on LBC radio, Farage has been a regular political commentator on international television channels since stepping down as Ukip leader in 2016. Farage, who has criticised others for avoiding tax, has come under fire in the past for using Thorn in the Side Ltd to reduce the tax bill on his media appearances. The MEP has previously admitted setting up a trust fund in an offshore tax haven that could have enabled him to cut his tax bill. Farage, who condemned tax avoiders in a speech to the European parliament, said in 2013 that he paid a tax adviser to set up the Farage Family Educational Trust 1654 in the Isle of Man. He has denied benefiting from the arrangement and said he made a loss. He claimed the “only neat solution” was to leave the EU on 29 March, calling for any extension request from Britain to be vetoed. All MEPs are entitled to a transition allowance linked to their length of service in the parliament to bridge their move into a new job. MEPs who have served one term could get a maximum pre-tax payment of €50,900 (£43,575), while an MEP in office since 1999 could receive €169,680 before tax.

Congratulations to Mike Carter on raising such important issues (The country I walked through deserves better than Brexit, 11 February). My husband, Colin Barnett, was – like Mike’s father – also instrumental in organising the People’s March for Jobs, as the then north-west regional secretary of the Trades Union Congress. His deep belief in trying to improve their pay and working conditions meant he tirelessly spent time travelling to their places of work, talking to them and persuading them to join the union. Why has it taken until now to realise how neglected many communities, especially outside the south of England, have become? What was the Labour party doing supporting contracting out when it was obvious that savings were made by reducing the pay and terms and conditions of the low-paid? Why was removing control and assets from democratically elected local authorities to establish academy schools pursued? I have banged on about this publication to the annoyance of friends, family and colleagues ever since I read it. We all need to read this book – it is a page-turning thriller. I was old enough, however, to see the destruction of houses and factories during that time. Victor Gilbert Pathhead, Midlothian • Re Mike Carter’s references to neoliberalism, some remainers are prone to accusing Brexiters of being dyed-in-the-wool neoliberals.

MPs across the political divide should "abandon outrage" and attempt to "forge a consensus" over Brexit, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd has said. Theresa May travelled to Brussels earlier this week to make a special plea to EU leaders after delaying Tuesday's Commons vote on the deal, in anticipation of a heavy defeat. 'Serious trouble' Many of her own MPs are concerned that the controversial "backstop" plan in the withdrawal agreement, which is aimed at preventing a hard border in Northern Ireland, would keep the UK tied to EU rules indefinitely and limit its ability to strike trade deals. AdChoices Ms Rudd said she supported Mrs May's deal and advocated assembling a "coalition" - potentially reaching out to opposition parties to avoid what she called "the rocks of no deal". She said the country "will face serious trouble" if MPs "dig in against the prime minister's deal". Mr Farage added the treatment of Mrs May in Brussels this week had been a "shaming moment" for both the UK and the EU and that the PM's Brexit deal was now "dead". He said: "Our UK friends need to say what they want, instead of asking us to say what we want... because this debate is sometimes nebulous and imprecise." Mrs May said that, despite reports that the EU was unwilling to consider further clarification, she had talked to European Council President Donald Tusk, Mr Juncker and others, which "have shown that further clarification and discussion following the council's conclusions is in fact possible". But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "The last 24 hours have confirmed that Theresa May's Brexit deal is dead in the water. "Rather than ploughing ahead and dangerously running down the clock, the prime minister needs to put her deal to a vote next week so Parliament can take back control."

British Prime Minister Theresa May delayed a vote in Parliament to approve her controversial Brexit deal. Nigel Farage reacts on 'America's Newsroom.' Read more on this story here: https://fxn.ws/2Eowpgb FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to…

Nigel Farage has quit Ukip after 25 years, saying the party he led to its greatest election successes was now unrecognisable because of the “fixation” with the anti-Muslim policies of its leader, Gerard Batten. Farage, who took Ukip to third place by number of votes in the 2015 election and significantly shaped the ground for the Brexit referendum, said he was dismayed by Batten’s policies and his decision to appoint the far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson as an adviser. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Farage condemned Batten’s decision to throw Ukip’s support behind an anti-Brexit demonstration in London on Sunday organised by Robinson and his associates, saying it was likely to “inspire violence and thuggish behaviour”. “My heart sinks as I reflect on the idea that they may be seen by some as representative of the cause for which I have campaigned for so much of my adult life,” wrote Farage, who regularly contributes a column to the newspaper. There is a huge space for a Brexit party in British politics, but it won’t be filled by Ukip.” Farage, who tried and failed seven times to become a Ukip MP and is still an MEP for the party, has repeatedly criticised Batten’s focus on anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric, and warned at the weekend that he might quit. Amid wider discontent at the stance of Batten, who has described Islam as a “death cult” and called for policies including Muslim-only prisons, Ukip’s national executive met at the weekend to consider his future as leader. While members made it clear that they did not want to allow Robinson to join Ukip – as the founder of the far-right English Defence League, he is barred under current rules – a vote of no confidence in Batten was defeated. Farage’s announcement is likely to prompt a further wave of departures from Ukip, which has lost three MEPs in recent weeks over its new direction. In the latter he has been slightly less discriminating, for example on the far-right website Infowars, which propagates conspiracy theories and has argued that the 7 July attacks in London were faked. During an appearance on Infowars earlier this year, Farage told host Alex Jones that leftwingers in Europe were “allied with radical Islam” and “want to abolish the nation state”.