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Reform insider reveals why Farage won’t apologise for racism

A new piece in the Times has revealed what may be a very dark truth about Nigel Farage and his hardcore supporters:

Either Farage has a very low opinion of his supporters or a very accurate one.

Farage — ‘Gas them’

This is the relevant section in the Times article (emphasis added):

Many Reform figures I’ve spoken to scoff at this suggestion and point to Starmer’s Hadean poll ratings. But privately some are concerned that the respectability bar could become an issue. “It doesn’t harm us with those who are already onside,” says a senior Reform source. “But there are some in the middle classes who are looking for an excuse not to. People who agree with us on most things, but aren’t yet supporters.”

Why not just apologise and be done with it then? “He thinks they’re a bunch of hypocrites,” says the source. “And if he apologised, he would be turning to his own support base and saying, ‘You’re all guilty too.’ ”

Just to remind you, these are some of things which his schoolyard acquaintances accused Farage of saying (as reported by the Guardian):

[Farage] would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers […] I’d never experienced antisemitism growing up, so the first time that this vicious verbal abuse came out of Farage’s mouth was deeply shocking. But I wasn’t his only target. I’d hear him calling other students ‘Paki’ or ‘Wog’, and urging them to ‘go home’.

If the Reform insider is correct, it suggests there’s a dark vein of hardcore bigotry running through the party’s base of support (which, to be fair, we are most definitely seeing).

The article also touches on whether a person should be held accountable for things a person said and did as a child. This is obviously something everyone must decide for themselves, but we do know what Farage thinks:

The Times notes that Farage has struggled with these accusations like no other issue, with Farage biographer Michael Crick saying:

To be losing his temper so much, he’s clearly rattled by all of this. We’ve seen the nasty, bullying side to Farage that the public don’t see that often, but which is very clear from his history of purging people [from his parties]. He’s gone down the wrong avenue really.

He added:

So much of his character is the same as you can see at Dulwich. The boy who’s desperate for attention, who loves debating, who loves division. The English nationalism, the interest — almost obsession — with immigration, the admiration for Enoch Powell, the free-market Thatcherism; all of that began at Dulwich.

Creepy crawlies

This section in the Times piece is also noticeable:

According to one Conservative switcher, defectors have also been limited to local media appearances, because the party is worried about the membership’s reaction to seeing large numbers of ex-Tory MPs crossing over.

As we keep highlighting, there are so many ex-Tories in Reform that it’s hard to argue it’s anything other than a Conservative continuity project.

Remember the old myth that you get two worms if you cut one worm in half?

This is what that looks like with a political party.

Featured image via Gage Skidmore

By Willem Moore

This post was originally published on Canary.