Open letter to Nigel Farage and the Reform leadership
TOM ARMSTRONG
Dear Mr Farage,
I am writing this letter to you in the hope of getting some clarification as to exactly where Reform UK now stands, as in my opinion the party has been sending some mixed signals recently, causing some alarm and more than a little despondency in the ranks of people who, like myself, have been your fellow travellers from early Ukip days (we once shook hands in a windswept field, overlooking the North Sea near Sunderland, at the beginning of the Brexit march to London).
One of the things that prompted this letter is the rumour that Reform is carrying out a ‘purge of Ukip types’. Obviously, this is just a rumour, but that many of your natural supporters believe that it may be true should cause you considerable concern – unless of course you are planning such a purge.
Before going further, I wish to add that I fully understand the pressures you face, and that you cannot please everybody all of the time. However, it is becoming difficult to ignore the increasingly strong impression that Reform is moving leftwards, towards the globalist Establishment, routinely choosing to please the mainstream media and those that control it, rather than that large section of your natural support recently sneeringly dismissed by your deputy leader as ‘that lot’, which you must know by now offended many.
I have read your pledge to the people in full, and while there is much good there, very often you do not go nearly as far as many want you to: planning to cut foreign aid by half rather than abolishing it completely, for example. But I’ll leave this aside for now and identify the following main issues where I think greater clarity is urgently required.
The term ‘that lot’ was used in connection with Tommy Robinson and his supporters. Now many, me included, can understand the reluctance to associate Reform with Robinson, as this would give the MSM ammunition to slander the party, which they would no doubt use mercilessly. But many of us are also aware that Robinson himself has been mercilessly slandered and see the disparaging remarks made about him by Reform as both unnecessary and cowardly. All you need to do is say nothing, but instead Reform chooses to accept the MSM’s view of Tommy Robinson and dismisses him as ‘not one of us’, a view not shared by the millions of patriotic working class voters you purport to represent.
And even if you oppose Robinson and disagree with all he says, surely you should be standing up for his right of free expression and opposing the vicious oppression he has received by the State? And yet, so far as I know, you have not spoken against his jailing and have not tried especially hard to oppose the outrageous jailing of protesters for shouting at police dogs, or making comments online, giving many the impression that you are not overly bothered. We need to see you being a champion of the oppressed British people and not just chucking out some vague, throw away remarks about free speech when being interviewed. You also need to act.
Next is what many perceive to be your meek acceptance of the Speaker’s gagging order on the Southport murders, and the waiving of parliamentary privilege for the first time ever. This is a matter of major constitutional importance, but Reform seems to have accepted it without much protest. Why? Again, your many supporters want to see outrage followed by action, not merely words and acceptance.
You say you would not want to be in contempt of court. And that is right. Everybody deserves a fair trial, including the man accused of the Southport murders, so I support you in refusing to say anything that might prejudice his trial.
But to imply, as you do, that this stops you asking questions about Starmer’s relationship with the accused’s father, if any, or asking about the government’s nigh-on totalitarian response to the subsequent protests and the cover up you allude to, and which every independent-minded person in the country thinks is going on, is surely disingenuous and does not serve Reform well. The defence of our liberty is the primary duty of MPs and yours above all, and many are not persuaded that you are doing all you should be. The country needs leadership in fighting this tyranny, for that is what it is.
Moving on, as you know very well, the increasing Muslim population and the related Islamist extremism, aimed at ultimately exercising full control over our society, is one that causes acute anxiety. Recently you said that ‘If we politically alienate the whole of Islam, we will lose,’ This comment has certainly raised eyebrows and a degree of adverse comment. You then went on to say, correctly in my view, that we need to both crackdown on extremists but also to do everything we can to bring the majority of British Muslims onto our side and ensure they are part of the national community.
But your comments raise serious questions. What do you mean by alienating the whole of Islam, and what do you proposing doing about fanatical Islamists? And how will you bring about the majority of British Muslims identifying primarily as British and peacefully accepting that their religion is just one of several?
I think it can be done, but it will not happen of itself. We need to know what your plans are. Soon. We need to know if your proposal to bring the majority of Muslims into mainstream British society involves any further sacrifices of our British identity or erosion of our traditional values?
And what do you propose doing if the majority of Muslims refuse to be integrated? Your talk about losing inspires no confidence and suggests surrender. You really do need to clarify all this. Avoiding further discussion about it, especially if that involve silencing Reform’s ‘Ukip faction’ will, in my opinion, destroy for ever Reform’s chances of forming a government, which I very much hope does not happen. We need an insurrectionary party in Britain and we need that party to take the lead in fighting for Britain, not meekly conforming to establishment norms.
It is clear that Reform now stands at a crossroads. On the one hand it can turn right and be the party that most of those who joined before the last election want it to be, or you can turn left and become a slightly more conservative version of the fake conservative Tories, essentially a vaguely radical faction of the entrenched Establishment. We need to know which it is. If you are moving away from your Ukip roots and voting block, you owe it to us to make that clear so that we also can move on, or back to a resurgent Ukip.
And if you turn Right, you really do need to engage more closely in the Culture Wars and fight much more doggedly the increasing tyranny of the woke State. And here again, many question whether those at the top of the party have the will or stomach for such a fight.
We all acknowledge the honourable place you have in the Brexit battle – still not won – and that you are the most successful British politician of the age, which is why we need you take the lead and fight the woke agenda to its conclusion. But you really do need to take a long, hard look at the structure of Reform’s top table.
Apart from yourself, a former Tory public schoolboy commodity trader, we have Richard Tice, multi-millionaire former Tory public schoolboy who, perhaps unfairly, is perceived as a bit disdainful of the masses. Then we have your party chairman, Zia Yusuf, a multi-millionaire former Tory and executive of Goldman Sachs, who describes himself as a ‘British Muslim patriot’. He really does need to expand on this, as it can be a major asset for the party, but he needs to convince sceptics that he is not going to try the Islamophobia card to stop the subject of Islam being debated.
Next we have Rupert Lowe who, it is agreed, says all the right things and has made a big impression on many, but he is also a multi-millionaire public schoolboy and former Morgan Grenfell, Deutsche Bank and Barings Banker. And then we have James McMurdock, admittedly from a humble background but also a former Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers banker. And of course we have the solidly working class Lee Anderson, but even he raises doubts, as a former Tory minister who cites Arthur Scargill, Dennis Skinner, and Tony Benn as important influences on his early political beliefs. And this brings us to the widely admired Ben Habid, who many think has been unfairly treated and who retains a large degree of support. And yet he is an ex-Tory former public schoolboy millionaire and ex-Lehman Brothers banker who is, or was, a Muslim.
It is fully agreed that being a public schoolboy, a millionaire, a banker, a Muslim or even a former Tory and young socialist, in no way precludes anyone else from being a suitable candidate for Reform in any capacity, but when all the senior personnel fall into these categories, and when the perception grows that Reform is not the radical reformist party it says it is, you will see that potentially at least , many may conclude that Reform’s leadership is essentially elitist and leans to ‘middle of the road’ Toryism. I put it to you that, if many do so conclude, Reform is finished. You really do need to stop these doubts growing, and I suggest that you do this by making Reform more of a democracy.
Your pledges to the British people on constitutional reform are fine as far as they go, but I see no plan for introducing a more participatory democracy, for really redicung the power of the State or moving away from total reliance on the political class and party in government, or for ensuring that promises made to get elected are kept. You have yourself said that trust in British politics is at an all-time low, and I put it to you that the electorate should not have to trust government, any government. The people should have the power to ensure government does what it was elected to do. Your pledges do not go anywhere near ensuring that no government has ever again the power to create the anti-British mess the last few governments have created, once again leaving suspicions of elitism unallayed.
And finally, you have spoken about loyalty, implying that Reform voters should give you and the leadership uncritical support. I am sorry Mr Farage, but unthinking party loyalty and tribal voting is exactly what has got us where we are today – very far down the road to serfdom and government by lunatics intent on destroying the nation state and impoverishing us in the name of net zero. You will not get my loyalty. You might get my support, but that is entirely dependent on what you do, not what you say – and I suspect that there are millions more of a similar mind.
I really do hope that Reform UK is the party we need, and I hope that it forms the next government. But – and I know that this is a view shared by many – you are in danger of losing your most active support. I urge you therefore, to address this as a matter of urgency and reassure those of us who are starting to doubt you.
And please note, that repeating the old Tory trick of taking your right wing support for granted and moving to the Left to attract new support will not work. Few will fall for that anymore.
You are welcome to respond at any time in this magazine.
Yours etc.
So what do you think of how Farage & Co are handling Reform?
This article (Open letter to Nigel Farage and the Reform leadership) was created and published by Free Speech Backlash and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Tom Armstrong
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