Nigel Farage is standing as MP

[soulman101]

For Clacton and taking over as leader over as leader of the Reform party.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZApDQCGDxfc

[Omegstrat6]

Anyone really surprised by this? Tbh, I'd have been more shocked if he hadnt. Political beliefs aside, he likes the limelight too much.

[phild]

Its the illegals in boats that have done it for the Tories. If they had the political will to have protected the borders then they would have walked this election. Has it is Farage now as an open goal and should easily win the seat for Reform

[greyhound]

Whether you like him or not (I like him),at least you know where you stand with him,unlike Comrade Starmer,spineless richy and the other assorted no marks.

[mickd1961]

Farage should actually just start The Farage Party, just like Boris should start The Boris Party.

The message from this pair is so simple to understand.

[baggieal]

At least Farage has the balls others lack! Even a 10 year old could tell you Farage is the best bet to protect our borders. One of the reasons why Trump is loved in the US is because he wants to stop all the illegals.

People are sick of it as a majority in both the U.K. and US.

Farage tells you the way it is and not full of complete bollox like Starmer and Sunak!

[kettering_baggie]

Farage might not even win in Clayton and as for stopping the boats, no chance, Labour will throw the doors wide open. The Conservatives should have changed the law and stopped almost all immigration and removed the reasons for stopping deportations. Harsh, maybe, but something has to be done, the country’s infrastructure cannot cope as things stand now.

In a Scottish accent, ‘We’re doomed…….’!

[Omegstrat6]

Despite all their rhetoric about it and (IMHO) mad cap Rwanda idea, the Conservative's record on immigration is absolutely dire.

After 14 years of Tory government there is just so much to fix in the country whether that be immigration, the NHS, education, housing or Defence. They may have had no control over the Covid pandemic (though some of their responses to it were questionable at best) or the invasion of Ukraine but their legacy leaves whoever follows them with an awful lot to try and put right and there are no easy solutions.

Like many, I'm certainly unsure of Starmer and Labour and even less impressed by the Lib Dems but , for me, Farage certainly isn't the answer. Even if he sorted out Immigration (which I don't believe he would) does anyone seriously believe that this would, in itself, have much of an impact on all the other issues the country faces or that he and Reform have the ability to solve them?

Immigration (and not just the boat people) is undoubtedly a big issue but the right continue to use it to deflect people from perhaps the biggest legacy of this public school led government -inequality and the ever growing gap between the have and have nots.

The right disingenuously claim that all you have to do is work hard to reap the financial rewards, that "profit is not a dirty word" and that many of the problems the country faces are down to illegal immigration or benefit cheats rather than the result of their own policies. Low pay/ zero hour contracts/ a gig economy/ lack of affordable housing/ the erosion of workers rights and benefits all contribute to keeping the poorer poor whilst enabling the wealthy to get richer but they simply call this the "politics of envy".

[Omegstrat6]

Just been watching a selection of Farage interviews and people's responses to them. Whilst he has stepped away from his older, more straightforwardly racist comments, and presents himself as quite an affable bloke who is simply "straight talking" and not afraid of saying how it is, underneath it all he is the same old narcissistic Nige.

If I want straight talking, I prefer Hislop who is brighter and-as far as I can tell-uses more accurate data to back up his arguments. In a recent interview, for example, Farage is seen trotting out the recent report about 46% of Muslims supporting Hamas as fact -the one discussed in a previous post on here that found it to have been instigated by a known anti-Muslim group with a survey sample so small that it would be quite laughable to assume that it was representative of the near 4 million Muslim population in the UK. The 46% may have indeed been factual as regards the survey itself but to claim it as therefore factual for the total population of Muslims is a crass assumption, though, judging from the comments, one too readily swallowed by many Reformers.

He then goes on to use the tired argument that it is immigration levels that mean "ordinary British families" cannot get their kids into primary school/ get to see a doctor/ get on the housing ladder etc. Of course, it is totally logical that the higher the population is, the more difficult these things will be and that therefore Immigration levels make things worse. It's basic supply and demand- but this is nothing to do with government policy failings in these areas then and all down to immigration alone? Really?

Islamic extremism exists, we all know it does, and Farage is right in that it does pose a threat to our society and values, but he is deliberately exaggerating the levels of it within Muslim communities and stoking fears around it for political gain. Not, I would suggest, very helpful if looking for genuine solutions to the raft of issues the country faces. Still, I guess his decision to stand will give him more publicity and air time which is probably a lot of what this has really been about.

[SwedishBaggie]

So Ukip and Brexit was a good idea!? 🤔😮