Farage claims ‘well-known' figures want to join Reform UK cabinet
Speaking during an LBC phone-in on Thursday, the Reform UK leader dismissed the notion that ministers "must all be politicians in the House of Commons" as "nonsense".
He drew parallels with the US system, where cabinet members frequently have no prior electoral experience, arguing that running public finances should be approached "as if you're running a business".
While declining to name any specific individuals under consideration, Mr Farage hinted at significant progress, stating: "I'm amazed by the conversations we're having already." He said: 'Some of them are very well-known people.
'This country is in economic, social and cultural decline, we are in big trouble, and a lot of people recognise that if this is not turned around within the next decade, the place will, frankly, not be worth living in.'
In the wide-ranging phone-in, he also said he wanted to be prime minister because he did not 'see anybody else with the guts to take on the really tough issues this country faces and turn it round'.
Asked whether he supported same-sex marriage, which he previously opposed, he would only say it was a 'settled issue', and he described a recent Commons vote to decriminalise women who have abortions after the 24-week limit as 'disturbing'.
Mr Farage also ruled out banning non-stunned meat, such as kosher and halal products, saying he did not 'like it' but there were 'more important, more urgent priorities'.
He also called for US President Donald Trump to be allowed to address Parliament when he comes to the UK later this year, after he was barred from doing so on his previous state visit.
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The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nigel Farage should do his bit to keep the peace
There is no situation where an intervention by Nigel Farage won't make things worse. He has, after all, made a career out of detecting, exploiting and exacerbating people's grievances and fears, a grim cycle that has delivered electoral success. The man is gifted in his insidious trade, if nothing else. Nowhere is this strategy more dangerously deployed than in issues of migration, race and crime, so often shamelessly conflated by the Reform UK leader with a studied and long-experienced hand. It is done almost instinctively. Once, he even blamed being late for a 'meet-the-Ukip leader' event in Wales on traffic jams on the M4 caused by immigration, rather than, say, the infamous bottleneck at Newport. Rather more grievously, his actions in the aftermath of the horrific Southport murders a year ago did nothing to calm tempers and stop the wild social media speculation that the person responsible was a Muslim asylum seeker who'd more or less just arrived in Britain, via a small boat. He plainly has no regrets and is approaching the disclosure of details concerning the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton in the same reckless manner. He and his Reform UK colleagues on Warwickshire County Council are demanding, as Mr Farage did last year, that the immigration status of those involved be released by the police. The justification, once again, is that there is a 'cover-up' – a serious allegation made without foundation – and people are being denied the truth, presumably through some sense of misguided political correctness. Mr Farage implies, as he did last year, that this 'cover-up' – which he presumably sees as a deliberate attempt to deceive the public – only serves to create confusion and inflame feelings. 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At that point, the question of deportation does arise. The fact is that someone's immigration status can affect the feelings of many perfectly law-abiding and worried people demonstrating outside 'migrant hotels' (real or imagined) up and down the country on legitimate grounds. They are not all fascists or racists, still less pathologically violent. They are angry and fearful at what they learn from the news and the speculation on social media, and they deserve to be told the facts. But there is just the suspicion that immigration status can, in some grotesque, emotionally-charged way, lead to violence and mob rule. It is, quite simply, wrong and criminally so, to attempt arson on a hotel with human beings inside, whatever the circumstances. It doesn't help anyone or solve anything. 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The difference is that, unlike Mr Farage, they don't seem to be talking it up. It would make a useful change if Mr Farage didn't make everything into a 'cover-up' and accept that, in many cases, details are withheld for sound legal reasons concerning a fair trial and the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. The police should not have to break the law and risk upsetting a trial and letting the guilty go free simply because of the threat of a riot if they don't, or accusations of 'two-tier policing'. What's more, Mr Farage shouldn't call for the resignation of chief constables, or any other officers, who are trying to keep the oaths they took to uphold the laws set down by parliament and the King's peace. Standing up for the police, defending the independent judiciary, condemning violence and respecting human rights are, in fact, the patriotic British things to do at times such as these. If he cares about the cohesion of communities and the rule of law as deeply as he claims, Mr Farage should do his bit to keep the peace as well.
Daily Mail
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- Daily Mail
Trump claims Jaguar Land Rover is in 'turmoil' after rebrand
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BBC News
24 minutes ago
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