'Join the revolt': UK's Farage to lay out election policies
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[June 17, 2024]
By Elizabeth Piper and William James
MERTHYR TYDFIL, Wales (Reuters) - Nigel Farage, whose entry into the
British election has damaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's already faint
hopes of victory, will on Monday set out his Reform UK party's policies,
saying they should form the opposition to a Labor government.
Farage is one of Britain's most recognizable and divisive politicians
and has pressured successive governments into more aggressive stances on
cutting immigration. He played a pivotal role in the 2016 vote to leave
the European Union.
But his career has been spent campaigning from the sidelines of British
politics, having stood unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament seven
times and led parties which, despite attracting millions of votes, have
failed to weaken the grip of Britain's two main parties - the
Conservatives and Labor.
On Monday he called on supporters of Sunak's Conservatives to "join the
revolt" and said Labor, whose leader Keir Starmer is forecast to become
the next prime minister, would run the country into the ground if left
unchecked.
"There needs to be a proper voice of opposition," Farage told the BBC
ahead of an event in Wales where he will set out Reform's policies.
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"This is our first big election as a party. Our plan is to establish
that bridgehead in parliament and to use that voice to build a big
national campaigning movement around the country over the course of the
next five years for genuine change."
Reform chose Merthyr for its launch to highlight what it says is Labor
misrule in Wales.
Farage said he was aiming to become prime minister in the next election,
likely in 2029.
His unexpected entry into the election race - having initially said he
would not run and wanted to concentrate on campaigning for Donald Trump
in the United States - has split support among Britain's right-of-centre
voters.
The Labor Party is around 20 percentage points ahead in opinion polls
and forecast to win a large majority on July 4. Reform overtook the
Conservatives in one opinion poll last week, and Farage has set a target
of winning six million votes at the July 4 election.
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![](../images/061724PIX/news_r40.jpg)
Britain's Reform UK Party Leader Nigel Farage arrives with party
Chairman Richard Tice to a Reform UK general election campaign event
in London, Britain June 14, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Other polls put them far behind the governing party and under
Britain's electoral system Reform is only expected to win, at most,
a small handful of seats.
"JOIN THE REVOLT"
So far the Reform campaign has offered little details on policy,
instead focusing on Farage and his populist appeal.
The 60-year-old received an expensive private education and worked
as a commodities trader but has successfully styled himself as a man
of the people taking on an out-of-touch political establishment.
Writing on ConservativeHome, a Conservative Party grassroots
website, Farage urged its readers: "Come on, join the revolt. It’s
time."
"You’ve been so badly let down by the Conservative Party that it
really must be time for something – and someone – new, who can unite
the right. What have you got to lose?"
Last week it called for a 40 billion pound ($51 billion) tax cut for
voters, funded by scrapping the interest paid to banks by the Bank
of England.
But immigration, the issue on which Farage has for more than a
decade struck a chord with voters, is expected to dominate their
policy offering as they seek to peel off voters from the
Conservatives and parts of Labour's support.
"We're unashamedly patriotic, and we believe that immigration -
exploding population - should be the major issue in this election,"
Farage told the BBC.
(Writing by William James in London; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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