Farage’s association with Trump is Reform UK’s Achilles’ heel
Martin Shipton
Opponents of Reform UK, whose support has been rising in the polls, believe the party’s Achilles’ heel is its leader Nigel Farage’s close association with Donald Trump.
In the wake of Trump’s announcement of hefty tariffs on goods exported to the United States, many of those with a low opinion of Farage took to social media to draw attention to the links between the two men.
One post on X said: “Less than a month ago, Farage went off to the US to fundraise for Trump. A big reminder that Farage and Reform would ruin the UK economy in the same way as Farage’s best buddy.”
On March 20 the Guardian reported: “Nigel Farage is once again in America helping to fundraise for Donald Trump’s Republican Party, with the latest data showing he has spent more than 800 hours on outside employment since being elected.
“The Reform UK leader is appearing on Thursday night to give a keynote speech at a fundraiser for Florida Republicans’ ‘Disruptors’ dinner, with tables for top-tier ‘Trump sponsors’ costing $25,000 (£19,000).
“Before his appearance, he was absent from Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, and he did not appear in the Commons on Thursday.
“Farage has made at least nine trips abroad, including eight to the US, since he was elected MP for Clacton in Essex last July, with many of them either funded by donors or undertaken for paid employment such as speeches.
“In a statement issued by the US organisers, Farage said: ‘I’m so incredibly excited to be joining the Republican Party of Florida for the Disruptors Dinner.’
“President Trump’s decisive win and return to the White House inspires us all to continue the fight for freedom globally. I’m looking forward to being back in the Free State of Florida to celebrate with all of you.”
US Tariffs
A snap poll by the British Chambers of Commerce of more than 600 business has revealed the extent to which UK firms expect to be hit by US tariffs.
- 62% of UK firms with trade exposure to the USA say they will be negatively impacted by US tariffs.
- 32% of firms with trade exposure to the USA say they will increase prices in response to the tariff.
- 44% of firms with exposure to the USA say the UK should seek to negotiate a closer trade relationship with the USA, and 43% want closer trade with other markets.
- Just under a quarter (21%) think the UK should impose retaliatory tariffs.
Using its access to companies in the Chamber Network, the research was rapidly carried out between 10am on Friday and 4pm on Saturday as news emerged of retaliatory action by China.
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Farage and Reform’s ties to Trump, whose reckless tariffs are crippling the global economy and damaging Welsh businesses, reveal where their true priorities lie: self-interest and self-promotion. Farage spends more time in America than he does in his own constituency. They don’t care about the communities they’re supposed to represent – and they sure won’t care about Wales if elected to the Senedd next year.
“Reform is only interested in lining their own pockets and those of their billionaire backers, while pushing to privatise our NHS.
“Next May, Wales will have a choice. More years of stagnation under Labour, a leap into the unknown with Reform – a party so directionless they don’t even have a leader in Wales, or Plaid Cymru – a party that offers a fresh start: a bolder, fairer Wales, with a clear plan to make it happen.”
Brexit
A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “When the tariffs were announced, Nigel said that 10% tariffs from the USA are bad news, but better than 20% for EU members.
“If the Tory government had delivered quickly on Brexit we would have had a free trade deal years ago. This deal is still achievable.”
However, the current UK Government’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said that while a trade deal with the US might be negotiable in certain fields, there was no question of the UK accepting lower food standards that would allow the import from the US of products like chlorinated chicken.
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Sockpuppet
Farage campaigns and supports Trump a man who is actively undermining UK and Welsh businesses and leading us to a recession (he said Trump was a real friend of the UK not like Boden!). But the quisling coward won’t criticise his puppet master.
As for the laughable spin that these tariffs being a Brexit benefit. Reform should go and tell that to the workers at Jaguar Land Rover and the other UK companies who have stopped exporting to the US because of their hero’s attacks on British industry.
Yep. All the way.
Not forgetting his cabinet discuss top secret plans on unsecured networks, they are disappearing legal US people and Trump has already said he is happy to deport natural born US people and they send armed state troopers to intimidate a DOJ. And they are announcing 45billion for internment camps.
The brexit “benefit” is we have to sit and take a beating because of people like farage and reform.
When the monkey is in its cage flinging its mess around, that is all it is. Not a grand chess master.
Trump is a dunce with power. Farage is a dunce following a dunce, farage is so far up trump he has a brown ring around his ankles. That also means reform by association. Only one person benefits here and he is sat in Moscow. Gotta wonder how this all happened, brexit, now trump. There is no reason to this tariff issue, its an idiot in charge in the US. That has already been picked apart. Wanna see what happens when an idiot crashes a casino then takes control of a country? Here it is. And this will be farage’s plan… Read more »
Gargoyles of the future, spouting filth not rain…
Born with two…the pair of them…
Farage is an admirer of Trump and also he has stated he admires Putin so he has TWO ACHILLIES HEELS and i hope it does more damage to Reform which is a FAR RIGHT ENGLISH NATIONALIST PARTY A FASCIST PARTY and do not forget he wants to sell off the N H S and to those reform supporters who are on here and in Deniel of it go ont You tube and type in Farage selling off the N H S it shows him saying in various interviews on news channals on Question Time he does not hide dont forget… Read more »
Trump is evidently a front man for some sort of organised business crime group who are out to wreck markets for dubious gain – like hedge fund profits, and tilt the tables dramatically in dealings with other sovereign states by using trade as a bullying tool.
Reform will copy this cat’s antics because it has little or no intellectual horsepower of its own. Shame that the rest of our political spectrum is so shallow and introverted that it can’t muster the energy and ideas to bounce them out of the ring.