Farage took a swipe at Rupert Lowe and other political forces to the ‘right’ of Reform at the beginning of Zia Yusuf’s immigration speech today. Speaking in Dover, the Reform leader said failing on immigration policy has empowered the real ‘far-right’:
“Unless we are able to provide a proper democratic antidote to this, then I fear that we will see a rise of a really worrying, dangerous form of extreme right ethno-nationalism. And I think we’re beginning over the last couple of weeks already to see some specimens of it. Nobody, nobody over the last quarter of a century has done more to defeat the genuine, intolerant, abhorrent, extreme, far-right than me.
We did it with the British National Party and we’ll do it with whoever else follows. But it’s important we get a grip on this because there is no issue other than legal and illegal immigration that has broken the bond of trust between the voters and those that govern us more than this issue and I have spoken out consistently on.”
Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe has launched his own party. Meanwhile Ben Habib keeps offering to merge with him. Were that to happen they would presumably split into four breakaway parties by Christmas…
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”