All is not well in Reform HQ. On Tuesday, Nigel Farage broadcast a statement where he claimed that Sir Keir Starmer’s rhetoric – dubbing Reform’s plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain ‘racist’ – risked inciting violence against his party’s activists and candidates. This morning, the party’s head of policy Zia Yusuf took to the airwaves to fume:
By all means take issue with the policy… But using language like ‘battle’… ‘enemy’… ‘threat’… in a world of social media… we’re all for free speech but no matter how much you want to uphold free speech, incitement of violence… there is nothing to excuse that.
The party has used the recent death of US activist Charlie Kirk to suggest that Farage and Reform activists could be in similar danger in the UK – with Yusuf insisting: ‘If anything was to happen to Nigel, we will hold Keir Starmer responsible’. His remarks have led commentators to suggest Reform UK is overreacting to Starmer’s attack lines – with former party man Rupert Lowe slamming the group for its hypocrisy after he was forced out earlier this year. Mr S has been rather interested in Yusuf’s comments this morning too – not least given that he has, alongside Farage and deputy leader Richard Tice, not been shy in the past about using words like ‘battle’, ‘enemy’ or ‘threat’ to take a pop at his political opponents. Talk about two-tier standards, eh?
Steerpike has compiled a non-exhaustive list of fifteen examples below…
Yusuf: ‘the British government is the enemy of the British people’
Yusuf hits out at Commons over Farage interruptions
Yusuf: Ed Miliband is ‘an active threat’ to security
Farage: the civil service ‘are the enemy within’
Farage: ‘I see [Emmanuel] Macron as the enemy’
Farage: ‘The battle against globalism is real’
Farage on NatCon and the ‘battle against cancel culture’
Farage on Brexit: ‘Let battle be joined.’
Farage: Starmer is ‘the biggest threat’ to free speech
Farage: Pubs under ‘threat’ from Starmer
Farage: Rural life ‘directly under threat’ from Labour
Farage: ‘Democracy is under threat’ – a month after Yusuf blasted Harriet Harman for saying the same about Reform
Farage: Rachel Reeves is a ‘threat’ to the British seaside
Tice: Labour is a ‘threat to the safety of women and girls’
Tice: Miliband is ‘Britain’s most dangerous man’ and a ‘threat’ to prosperity
And there’s more, with Farage even tweeting earlier this year that shadow home secretary Chris Philp should, er, be ‘in hiding’. Crikey!
Of course, Mr S doesn’t believe that any of this language is necessarily wrong or should be banned – but perhaps Reform politicians should be a little more careful about their counter-attacks when they have clearly demonstrated they are no stranger to this rhetoric either. Rules for thee but not for me!
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