Nigel Farage is clearly unfit to govern Britain
For a party which, rightly in my opinion, calls out the failures of multiculturalism, Reform UK should have had a view on the burqa. Whether that garb represents a rejection of British culture and the repression of women, or whether it is simply a matter of personal choice, Reform should have had a settled position on it. It did not. Sarah Pochin, one of its MPs, is seemingly against it and Zia Yusuf, its now erstwhile chairman, is not.
The party's failure to have a line on a subject, raised no less by Pochin at PMQs, is symptomatic of a greater problem within Reform. It has no settled political philosophy.
This is evident from manifold self-contradictory statements made by Farage himself. He is on the record saying he is not concerned about the rate of demographic change in the country, though he is worried about the cultural damage being done to our country. They are two sides of the same coin.
On that same point, he would be prepared to consider a return of Shamima Begum to the country. He is against illegal migration but has no intention of deporting all illegal migrants.
He claims to stand up for the United Kingdom but readily accepts that Northern Ireland will inevitably be united with Ireland. He recognises the urgent need to cut government spending and reverse the culture of dependency, but would remove the cap on benefits for more than two children.
His lack of a coherent philosophy is also evident in the people he has recruited into the party. Nick Candy, his treasurer, is a Blairite. He offered to put forward Charlie Mullins, an avowed Remainer, as a candidate. Even Pochin, a former Tory, had previously welcomed Syrian and Afghan asylum seekers. He has recruited councillors and members from all parts of the political spectrum – from Labour and Tory to the Liberal Democrats.
There is no heart and soul in Reform. It is merely a campaigning vehicle for Farage to capitalise on the discontent with Labour and the Tories. It is a protest party.
The events of the last few days also reveal, yet again, Reform lacks discipline. How is it that an MP would ask a question in Parliament which would so offend the chairman? And why did the chairman then feel able to publicly denounce her as 'dumb'?
Farage is Reform and Reform is Farage. He likes it that way. He has seemingly failed to establish a proper party structure and constitution. I campaigned hard last year for the party's democratisation. I did so in part so that it would have in-built checks and balances. With due processes established, there would have been no way for an MP to go off-piste in Parliament or for the chairman to then make a fool of himself.
If Reform intends to be the antidote to the nation's woes, Farage needs to honestly reflect on recent events. He must realise the party needs a coherent political philosophy and policies which flow from this. He must establish foundations for the party which allow it to function and grow as a proper organisation.
Reform is doing extremely well in the polls. If sustained, this could propel it into office. The party therefore has an obligation to take itself seriously and do the heavy lifting required to form a successful government. The sort for which we all so yearn.
Farage is a brilliant and cunning campaigner. But he proves, time and again, that he is not fit to create a government or lead it.
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