Nigel Farage - MP for Clacton | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Nigel Farage, MP for Clacton. null.
Role: MP for Clacton
Recorded incidents (showing 31-40 of 52)
Nigel Farage affirms employers should be allowed to discriminate by nationality
Category: xenophobia
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said on 13 January 2026 that he does not retract comments made in 2015 that employers should be able to choose staff on the basis of nationality and that race equality laws should be removed. He said he still believes Britain should 'put British workers first' and stood by his earlier remarks. Anti-racism groups and unions criticised the remarks, with Dr Shabna Begum calling the position a dangerous trajectory and the TUC general secretary Paul Nowak describing it as morally abhorrent. Green peer Natalie Bennett said Farage was waving the flag for prejudice, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said he wanted to rip up anti-discrimination legislation, and the 2015 comments had previously been condemned by then-MP Nadhim Zahawi, who this week defected to Reform UK.
Nigel Farage accuses Rachel Reeves of 'racial slurs' and defends limiting child benefits to British parents
Category: xenophobia
On 9 January 2026 Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton, posted a video on X and a tweet responding to comments by Chancellor Rachel Reeves about his party's stance on the two-child benefit cap. He said Ms Reeves had used "racial slurs against us", repeated his claim that around 50% of those who would receive more money if the cap is removed have overseas parents, and argued the policy would cost the British economy; he framed Reform's position as limiting benefit entitlement to British parents working full time. Ms Reeves had earlier accused Mr Farage of racism in relation to Reform's proposal, saying she did not care about a child's skin colour and questioning whether he would deny payments on that basis. Reform's head of policy Zia Yusuf accused Ms Reeves of equating Britishness with race and called for Sir Keir Starmer to sack her, while a Labour source said Mr Farage wanted to "plunge hundreds of thousands of children into poverty"; Parliament was due to vote on the two-child cap the following week.
Nigel Farage says child benefit cap should only be lifted for British-born parents
Category: racism
On 8 January 2026 Nigel Farage said Reform UK would vote against lifting the two-child benefits cap unless both parents in a household were born in the UK and working full-time. He set out the condition as both parents having been born in the UK and being in full-time work before the cap could be removed. SNP leader John Swinney described the comments as "basic racism" and said he would have none of it. Malcolm Offord defended the position as "completely colour blind", saying it aimed to prioritise British nationals who had paid into the system, and Reform UK said it would oppose the UK Government's decision to end the cap.
Nigel Farage threatens civil servants with prosecution and pension loss over asylum decisions
Category: intimidation bullying
In December 2025 Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said civil servants who "wilfully ignored" the criminal background of asylum seekers could face criminal prosecution and the total loss of their pensions. He said he would not allow the safety of women and girls to be sacrificed and set out a proposal for a new offence of "dishonestly determining an asylum claim" carrying up to two years in prison, alongside plans to strip pensions from the most "egregious" officials. Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's head of policy, echoed Farage's position and accused the Home Office of granting asylum to people with violent histories. A government spokesperson defended the work of the Civil Service, noting recent removals and increased asylum-related returns, and the measures remain Reform UK's policy proposals rather than enacted law.
Nigel Farage says pupils not speaking English are 'the cultural smashing of Glasgow'
Category: racism
On 3 December 2025 Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, posted on the party's social media that nearly one in three pupils in Glasgow do not speak English as their first language and described this as "the cultural smashing of Glasgow", saying it was "turning it into a completely different city". He made the remarks ahead of a planned visit to Scotland and said he would make the issue a focus of Reform UK’s Holyrood campaign. Farage cited council figures showing around 29 per cent of Glasgow pupils spoke English as an additional language. Maggie Chapman, the Scottish Greens MSP, accused him of "picking on children" and of setting a "deeply racist agenda", while Glasgow City Council defended the city’s diversity and said many pupils are fluent and receive specialist support.
Nigel Farage nods at PMQs as David Lammy criticises Reform MP's 'racist' language
Category: racism
At Prime Minister's Questions on 5 November 2025 in the House of Commons, Nigel Farage appeared to nod when Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy criticised the language used by Reform MP Sarah Pochin during a TalkTV appearance the previous month. The exchange took place during a question about the conduct of Kent County Council. Ms Pochin apologised for any offence and said her comments were "phrased poorly", while also repeating her view that many adverts are unrepresentative of British society. No formal sanction against Mr Farage was reported following the nod; the incident occurred amid broader criticism of Reform's conduct on Kent County Council.
Nigel Farage urges cut to minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds
Category: discriminatory remark
On 3 November 2025 at a press conference in the City of London, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the Government should consider cutting the minimum wage for young people to boost aspiration and business. He said "There’s an argument the minimum wage is too high for younger workers," and urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to either lower the minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds or lift the cap at which employers pay National Insurance. Young people aged 18–20 are currently entitled to a minimum wage of £10 an hour. Farage made the remarks while criticising proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy, calling for tax cuts for high-earning "young professionals," and outlining plans to reduce public spending and welfare. He told the Chancellor to "do one or the other," and there was no immediate public response from the Chancellor. If implemented, the proposal would reduce the legal pay floor for 18–20-year-olds currently protected by the National Minimum Wage.
Nigel Farage scapegoats migrants in City speech outlining Reform UK vision
Category: xenophobia
Nigel Farage gave a speech to a City of London audience on 3 November 2025 in which he presented what he called Reform’s "vision" for Britain. He claimed UK GDP rose only because of immigration, said migration had "made the average Briton poorer," and repeated a figure of £200bn for benefits to refugees given permanent leave to remain, a figure the organisation that produced it later withdrew. He set out policy positions including deregulation of financial markets, reversing non-domicile tax changes, cuts to employment protections and public spending, and loosening oversight on banking and cryptocurrencies. The speech blamed immigrants rather than employers or low wages for poor productivity and included derogatory references to migrants; there was no immediate response from Farage or Reform UK and no formal consequence reported.
Nigel Farage calls masked Tower Hamlets protesters 'foreign invading army'
Category: xenophobia
On 26 October 2025 Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton, said at a Westminster press conference that masked protesters who had marched through Tower Hamlets were "like a foreign invading army" and described the scenes as "one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever seen in my whole life." He also said the display amounted to "urging the mass wipe out of huge numbers of Jewish people." The remarks followed a demonstration by hundreds from the Bangladeshi community in East London after a UKIP march in the borough was banned. The comments came amid a racism row within Reform UK over remarks by MP Sarah Pochin, whom Farage resisted calls to suspend while saying her wording was "wrong and ugly" but that he did not believe her intent was racist. Political leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised Pochin and said Farage had questions to answer. Farage remains Reform UK leader and MP for Clacton, and no disciplinary action against Pochin was announced at the time.
Nigel Farage says UK should shoot down Russian jets in Nato airspace
Category: inflammatory language
On 17 October 2025 Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, said in an interview that Britain should "shoot down" Russian jets if they entered Nato airspace. He repeated the comment in a social media video posted ahead of the broadcast. Labour Party Chair Anna Turley criticised Farage, accusing him of repeating pro-Russian talking points and of trying to backtrack on earlier remarks about Vladimir Putin. The comments came amid scrutiny of Reform UK after its former Welsh leader Nathan Gill pleaded guilty to taking payments to make pro-Russian statements; Farage said he would support spending frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and that he might deploy British troops as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force, and the party has not announced any disciplinary action.