Whisper it, but there’s a name on everyone’s lips at Labour conference. A man who clearly seems to be going places – if we look at the sheer number of times he’s been cited in Liverpool. Who is this whippersnapper? A young socialist exciting the grassroots? A rising cabinet star? Errr, not exactly: it’s Nigel Farage, aged 61 and a half.
The Reform leader may not be in Liverpool but it’s been impossible to escape his name in recent days, with Starmer setting the hares running by labelling Farage’s polices ‘racist’ and questioning his patriotism.
Which is why Mr S was so surprised to hear David Lammy explain yesterday that he was ‘not going to play the man. I’m playing the ball, as our leader did’ (before having to retract his statement that Farage ‘flirted with Hitler Youth when he was younger’).
Is Labour really playing the ball and not the man? To find out Mr S waded through every conference speech to find any mentions of Farage. Unsurprisingly, the man turns up quite a lot, with the Reform leader shoehorned into speeches about the NHS, Brexit, patriotism, online safety and even air travel.
Where was that ball again? Here’s every mention of Farage so far:
Keir Starmer:
‘I mean – think about it. When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future? He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain… Wants you to doubt it just as much as he does. And so he resorts to grievance.’
‘And the question I ask, seriously, of Nigel Farage and Reform: is do they love our country?’
‘Or, if a business looks a little too modern, do they say – as Farage said about Jaguar Land Rover – they deserve to go bust?’
‘But there is a line – a moral line. And it isn’t just Farage who crosses it. There are also people who should know better, sowing fear and discord across our country.’
Wes Streeting:
‘Farage wants to replace the NHS with an insurance system. His vision for healthcare is a system that checks your pockets before your pulse and asks for your credit card before your care. Well, it might be alright for mister moneybags. We know he can afford it. But what about those who can’t?’
‘He says we can’t afford in this century the National Health Service we could afford in the last. Well, if that’s the fight Farage wants, I say bring it on.’
‘When Farage was asked whether he’d side with medical scientists, he said: “I wouldn’t side with anybody.” Anti-science. Anti-reason. Anti-health.’
‘Nigel Farage is the snake oil salesman of British politics — and it’s time to stop buying what he’s selling.’
‘If you earn less than £60,000 a year and came from abroad — Farage wants you gone.’
‘So as our country’s Health and Social Care Secretary, let me address him and his colleagues directly. Thank you. Thank you for your service. Farage says go home. We say you are home.’
‘We’ve got your back. And at the next election, we’ll send Farage packing.’
‘But here is the challenge we’ve got – Farage is counting on us to fail.’
‘Well, I’ve got bad news for you, Nigel. Delivering on the NHS is what Labour governments do and this Labour government is delivering the change we promised.’
Ed Miliband:
‘We’ve got to call out Farage and his cronies for who they really are. They’re the investment-crushing, job-crushing, bill-raising, poverty-driving, science-denying, Putin-appeasing, young people-betraying bunch of ideological extremists. That is who they are.’
‘The truth is, I wish Nigel Farage was just the snake oil, Tory city boy we’ve known about for years. But he’s actually morphed into something even more dangerous. He’s now a key part of a global network who want to destroy the ties that bind our communities and our way of life.’
Heidi Alexander:
‘Air travel isn’t just for Nigel Farage to go to America, or for Richard Tice to spend his weekends in Dubai – it’s for everyone.’
Hilary Benn:
‘And while we’ve been getting on with all of this, what does Nigel Farage say? He wants to scrap the whole deal with the European Union.’
‘And yet what does Nigel Farage want to do? He actually wants to undermine the Good Friday Agreement by walking away from the European Convention on Human Rights.’
Liz Kendall:
‘When it comes to keeping children safe online I will not hesitate to act. What a contrast to Mr Farage and Reform. Who claim they champion family values. But want the Online Safety Act scrapped.’
Shabana Mahmood:
‘Working-class communities will turn away from us – the party that for over 100 years has been their party – and seek solace in the false promises of Farage.’
David Lammy:
‘And friends, when you see Nigel Farage measuring the curtains of Downing Street, look around the world.’
‘Magna Carta. Habeas Corpus. The rule of law. They are Britain’s gifts to the world.
And Nigel Farage doesn’t get it either. He wraps himself in our flag – but his policies don’t match British values.’
Rachel Reeves:
‘The single greatest threat to our way of life and to the living standards of working people is the agenda of Nigel Farage and the Reform party.’
Peter Kyle:
‘So how do I know I’m right about this? Because Nigel Farage thinks I’m wrong. And that’s also why it’s important that we have digital ID.’
Yvette Cooper:
‘Because while we are standing up to Putin, Nigel Farage calls him the leader he most admires.’
Ellie Reeves:
‘And with Reform, it’s even worse. Until recently, their party was literally owned by one individual: Nigel Farage.’
Hollie Ridley:
‘And that brings me on to Nigel Farage. A man who wants to replace our NHS with an insurance model of healthcare. A man who voted against banning zero hours contracts. A man who called for the US to implement trade penalties on the UK, even though he knew it could cost jobs and drive up bills for the British public. The man is fundamentally unfit for office.’
Comments