Latest news with #BfV
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘We speak the uncomfortable truth, but German thought police are silencing us'
It was supposed to be the killer blow to a party which has stalked the nightmares of Germany's political elite: a bombshell intelligence report with proof that Alternative for Germany [AfD] was a Nazi-style extremist group. Running to more than a thousand pages, the report by Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency announced that the AfD was a 'confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation', opening the door to a total ban on the party. But instead of turning the AfD into a pariah, the report has triggered a furious row over the rise of censorship in Germany, and damaged relations between its new government and the Trump administration. The 'Right-wing extremist' label is particularly explosive as the AfD came second place in February's elections, making it the de-facto opposition party in Germany. The new classification will also permit the BfV to intercept the party's phone calls and plant undercover agents. The Trump administration, which has already warned that a crackdown on free speech is under way in Europe, cried foul when the findings of the report were disclosed earlier this month. AfD leaders also claim it is an attempt to silence a party which could potentially defeat Germany's ruling centrist parties in the next election and form a government. Drawing on hundreds of statements, speeches and social media posts by AfD members over the past decade, the BfV's report accuses the party of holding views on immigrants that would not be out of place in the Third Reich. It is the culmination of a years-long process where the BfV has gradually upgraded the AfD's security status, from having 'suspected extremist' factions in some regions of Germany, to being a 'confirmed extremist' group nationwide. To back up its new status for the AfD, the BfV cites party members who have used Nazi slogans in speeches, have referred to non-native citizens as 'passport Germans', and have claimed that violent immigrants are waging 'jihad' on the country. One much more lurid example cites an AfD youth wing which distributed stickers claiming that Muslims were an 'invasive species.' But the BfV's actions have also raised questions about the state of free speech in Germany, which is struggling with unprecedented anger over mass-migration, as well as tensions linked to wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, Martin Hess, a senior AfD MP, warned that the German state was trying to punish the AfD for speaking 'uncomfortable truths' about mass migration, which he said were also held by '60 to 70 per cent' of the population. The tactic amounted to the German intelligence services acting as a modern-day 'gedankenpolizei,' he said, using the German phrase for the Orwellian term 'thought police.' 'I'm grateful the report has been made public, so that every citizen can read for themselves how you can be labelled Right-wing extremist for presenting the facts, which is what the AfD does,' Mr Hess, a former police officer and party spokesman for interior affairs, told The Telegraph. 'We speak uncomfortable truths, that migration has led to a massive deterioration in the security situation for Germany, and that migration, since 2015, has made Germany more unsafe than ever before in its history,' he added. The BfV's report has deeply irritated the Trump administration, members of which backed the AfD in the February elections and has repeatedly expressed concerns about the erosion of free speech in Europe – with particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, called the BfV's conduct 'tyranny in disguise', while JD Vance, the US vice-president, accused the German 'establishment' of 'rebuilding' the Berlin wall by demonising the AfD. It comes after Mr Vance snubbed a meeting in February with Olaf Scholz, the then-chancellor of Germany, at the Munich Security Conference, instead holding a meeting with Alice Weidel, the AfD leader. As the meeting was held just days before the German elections, it was viewed as the US in effect endorsing Ms Weidel as the country's next Chancellor. Germans are no strangers to having their language tightly controlled by the state, which is partly a legacy of postwar censorship rules aimed at preventing the return of a new fascist regime. All symbols and signs associated with Nazi Germany are banned, while playing down the scale and severity of Nazi war crimes is a criminal offence. But there are other examples which may seem excessive to British and US eyes: Rudely addressing a German policeman with the informal pronoun 'du' [you] carries a fine of €600 (£500). Making rude gestures, such as giving someone the middle finger, can lead to a fine of potentially thousands of euros. In one recent bizarre case, police raided a Bavarian man's house after he called former Robert Habeck, the former vice-chancellor, a 'schwachkopf' [moron] in a post on social media. But the BfV's new report is a step too far for the AfD, which says that censorship laws designed to block the return of Nazism are now being misused against critics of immigration policy. Mr Hess also suggested that the BfV drew up its report under pressure from Germany's ruling centrist parties, which are concerned that the AfD could emerge from the next general election as the largest party. 'The Verfassungsschutz [BfV] is currently being abused by those in power. It is a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is subject to the administrative and technical supervision of the interior ministry,' he said. 'It is therefore a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is bound to its instructions, and it's a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is led by so-called political officials.' Extracts of the BfV's controversial report, leaked to the German tabloid Bild, show that the AfD's views on immigrants were a key factor in its decision to declare the party a 'confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation.' But there were other factors: the party's track record of playing down Nazi war crimes, its uses of anti-Semitic 'ciphers and innuendo', and its links to the extreme-Right Identitarian movement in Europe. The report also accuses the AfD of violating Germany's postwar constitution, by drawing a distinction between native Germans and 'passport Germans,' meaning citizens of foreign origin. A key piece of evidence for this was a statement by Hans-Christoph Berndt, an AfD leader in Brandenburg state, that only ' 20, 30, 40 million Germans' were left in the country. The BfV interpreted the statement to mean that the remainder of Germany's citizens were not true Germans. BfV officials also included statements from Ms Weidel, such as her claim that 'cultural circles in Africa and the Middle East' were the cause of a surge in violent crime in Germany. Another remark labelled extremist by the BfV was Ms Weidel's view that violent migrants were waging a 'religious war' on Germany. The AfD denies such remarks are extremist as they refer to specific violent crimes committed in Germany by migrants, rather than migrants in general. Germany was hit by a string of terror attacks committed by rejected asylum seekers in the run-up to the February federal elections. In one of the most serious attacks, a rejected Syrian asylum seeker went on a stabbing rampage in a west German city's 'festival of diversity', killing three people. Mr Hess was speaking to the Telegraph three months after the AfD won 20 per cent of the vote in the federal elections, making the party the de-facto opposition in Germany. The party was frozen out of coalition talks by the centre-Right Christian Democrats and centre-Left Social Democrats, as both believe that the AfD is too extreme to govern. The election result was a major coup for the AfD, which started in 2013 as an obscure Eurosceptic movement but has since shifted ever further to the Right, largely in response to the 2015 refugee crisis. In the same interview, Mr Hess endorsed a German 'Dexit,' or exit from the European Union, and the deployment of the army at land borders to deter mass migration. He said that Dexit remained a long-term goal for the party, but stressed it was opposed to a British-style 'hard break' as it would cause significant turmoil to the German economy. 'We would send all available [border police] forces to the border, and if that does not suffice there is the possibility to temporarily resort to state police forces, and if that also does not suffice, we would temporarily deploy the armed forces,' Mr Hess added, addressing migration. Experts note that the rate of asylum seekers coming to Germany has decreased by 30 per cent, but the issue remains extremely sensitive due to the string of terror attacks committed by asylum seekers in the run-up to the elections. As for the censorship row, there are some signs that the BfV may be hesitating to go forward with its new 'extremist' label for the AfD. After its initial announcement, the BfV said it was pausing the process of formally designating the AfD as extremist, awaiting a court ruling by the administrative court in Cologne. German officials say this was a purely routine procedure, and that the extremist ruling will still be issued. But Ms Weidel has already claimed a victory over the German establishment. 'This is a first important step toward our exoneration and toward countering the accusation of Right-wing extremism,' she said, in a joint statement with Tino Chrupalla, the party's co-leader. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
‘We speak the uncomfortable truth, but German thought police are silencing us'
It was supposed to be the killer blow to a party which has stalked the nightmares of Germany's political elite: a bombshell intelligence report with proof that Alternative for Germany [AfD] was a Nazi-style extremist group. Running to more than a thousand pages, the report by Germany's BfV domestic intelligence agency announced that the AfD was a 'confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation', opening the door to a total ban on the party. But instead of turning the AfD into a pariah, the report has triggered a furious row over the rise of censorship in Germany, and damaged relations between its new government and the Trump administration. The 'Right-wing extremist' label is particularly explosive as the AfD came second place in February's elections, making it the de-facto opposition party in Germany. The new classification will also permit the BfV to intercept the party's phone calls and plant undercover agents. The Trump administration, which has already warned that a crackdown on free speech is under way in Europe, cried foul when the findings of the report were disclosed earlier this month. AfD leaders also claim it is an attempt to silence a party which could potentially defeat Germany's ruling centrist parties in the next election and form a government. Drawing on hundreds of statements, speeches and social media posts by AfD members over the past decade, the BfV's report accuses the party of holding views on immigrants that would not be out of place in the Third Reich. It is the culmination of a years-long process where the BfV has gradually upgraded the AfD's security status, from having 'suspected extremist' factions in some regions of Germany, to being a 'confirmed extremist' group nationwide. To back up its new status for the AfD, the BfV cites party members who have used Nazi slogans in speeches, have referred to non-native citizens as 'passport Germans', and have claimed that violent immigrants are waging 'jihad' on the country. One much more lurid example cites an AfD youth wing which distributed stickers claiming that Muslims were an 'invasive species.' But the BfV's actions have also raised questions about the state of free speech in Germany, which is struggling with unprecedented anger over mass-migration, as well as tensions linked to wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, Martin Hess, a senior AfD MP, warned that the German state was trying to punish the AfD for speaking 'uncomfortable truths' about mass migration, which he said were also held by '60 to 70 per cent' of the population. The tactic amounted to the German intelligence services acting as a modern-day 'gedankenpolizei,' he said, using the German phrase for the Orwellian term 'thought police.' 'I'm grateful the report has been made public, so that every citizen can read for themselves how you can be labelled Right-wing extremist for presenting the facts, which is what the AfD does,' Mr Hess, a former police officer and party spokesman for interior affairs, told The Telegraph. 'We speak uncomfortable truths, that migration has led to a massive deterioration in the security situation for Germany, and that migration, since 2015, has made Germany more unsafe than ever before in its history,' he added. The BfV's report has deeply irritated the Trump administration, members of which backed the AfD in the February elections and has repeatedly expressed concerns about the erosion of free speech in Europe – with particular emphasis on Germany and the UK. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, called the BfV's conduct ' tyranny in disguise ', while JD Vance, the US vice-president, accused the German 'establishment' of 'rebuilding' the Berlin wall by demonising the AfD. It comes after Mr Vance snubbed a meeting in February with Olaf Scholz, the then-chancellor of Germany, at the Munich Security Conference, instead holding a meeting with Alice Weidel, the AfD leader. As the meeting was held just days before the German elections, it was viewed as the US in effect endorsing Ms Weidel as the country's next Chancellor. Germans are no strangers to having their language tightly controlled by the state, which is partly a legacy of postwar censorship rules aimed at preventing the return of a new fascist regime. All symbols and signs associated with Nazi Germany are banned, while playing down the scale and severity of Nazi war crimes is a criminal offence. But there are other examples which may seem excessive to British and US eyes: Rudely addressing a German policeman with the informal pronoun 'du' [you] carries a fine of €600 (£500). Making rude gestures, such as giving someone the middle finger, can lead to a fine of potentially thousands of euros. In one recent bizarre case, police raided a Bavarian man's house after he called former Robert Habeck, the former vice-chancellor, a 'schwachkopf' [moron] in a post on social media. But the BfV's new report is a step too far for the AfD, which says that censorship laws designed to block the return of Nazism are now being misused against critics of immigration policy. Mr Hess also suggested that the BfV drew up its report under pressure from Germany's ruling centrist parties, which are concerned that the AfD could emerge from the next general election as the largest party. 'The Verfassungsschutz [BfV] is currently being abused by those in power. It is a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is subject to the administrative and technical supervision of the interior ministry,' he said. 'It is therefore a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is bound to its instructions, and it's a fact that the Verfassungsschutz is led by so-called political officials.' Immigration views prove key Extracts of the BfV's controversial report, leaked to the German tabloid Bild, show that the AfD's views on immigrants were a key factor in its decision to declare the party a 'confirmed Right-wing extremist organisation.' But there were other factors: the party's track record of playing down Nazi war crimes, its uses of anti-Semitic 'ciphers and innuendo', and its links to the extreme-Right Identitarian movement in Europe. The report also accuses the AfD of violating Germany's postwar constitution, by drawing a distinction between native Germans and 'passport Germans,' meaning citizens of foreign origin. A key piece of evidence for this was a statement by Hans-Christoph Berndt, an AfD leader in Brandenburg state, that only ' 20, 30, 40 million Germans' were left in the country. The BfV interpreted the statement to mean that the remainder of Germany's citizens were not true Germans. BfV officials also included statements from Ms Weidel, such as her claim that 'cultural circles in Africa and the Middle East' were the cause of a surge in violent crime in Germany. Another remark labelled extremist by the BfV was Ms Weidel's view that violent migrants were waging a 'religious war' on Germany. The AfD denies such remarks are extremist as they refer to specific violent crimes committed in Germany by migrants, rather than migrants in general. Germany was hit by a string of terror attacks committed by rejected asylum seekers in the run-up to the February federal elections. In one of the most serious attacks, a rejected Syrian asylum seeker went on a stabbing rampage in a west German city's 'festival of diversity', killing three people. Mr Hess was speaking to the Telegraph three months after the AfD won 20 per cent of the vote in the federal elections, making the party the de-facto opposition in Germany. The party was frozen out of coalition talks by the centre-Right Christian Democrats and centre-Left Social Democrats, as both believe that the AfD is too extreme to govern. The election result was a major coup for the AfD, which started in 2013 as an obscure Eurosceptic movement but has since shifted ever further to the Right, largely in response to the 2015 refugee crisis. In the same interview, Mr Hess endorsed a German 'Dexit,' or exit from the European Union, and the deployment of the army at land borders to deter mass migration. He said that Dexit remained a long-term goal for the party, but stressed it was opposed to a British-style 'hard break' as it would cause significant turmoil to the German economy. 'We would send all available [border police] forces to the border, and if that does not suffice there is the possibility to temporarily resort to state police forces, and if that also does not suffice, we would temporarily deploy the armed forces,' Mr Hess added, addressing migration. Experts note that the rate of asylum seekers coming to Germany has decreased by 30 per cent, but the issue remains extremely sensitive due to the string of terror attacks committed by asylum seekers in the run-up to the elections. As for the censorship row, there are some signs that the BfV may be hesitating to go forward with its new 'extremist' label for the AfD. After its initial announcement, the BfV said it was pausing the process of formally designating the AfD as extremist, awaiting a court ruling by the administrative court in Cologne. German officials say this was a purely routine procedure, and that the extremist ruling will still be issued. But Ms Weidel has already claimed a victory over the German establishment. 'This is a first important step toward our exoneration and toward countering the accusation of Right-wing extremism,' she said, in a joint statement with Tino Chrupalla, the party's co-leader.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany reports 40% jump in politically motivated crime
Germany saw a 40 percent jump in politically motivated crime last year, official data showed Tuesday, with the federal police chief warning of a growing "radicalisation in society". The number of such offences, which range from hate speech to acts of physical violence, reached a record high of 84,172, almost half of them motivated by far-right ideology. Interior Minster Alexander Dobrindt said political tensions were heightened in 2024 amid European and regional elections, including one in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped a state vote for the first time. He noted a rise in crimes directed against politicians, activists and party offices. Speaking alongside Dobrindt was Holger Muench, chief of the federal police, who said the figures "reflect a polarisation and radicalisation in society" and showed that Germany's "democracy is under pressure". Dobrindt noted a "fast-growing development... of extreme right-wing youth movements", which were notably targeting events for the LGBTQ+ community. The figures also showed a 15.3 percent rise in the number of violent offences to 4,107. Another factor driving last year's jump in politically motivated crimes was "international crises", notably the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that had fuelled a rise in anti-Semitic offences. Of the 6,236 anti-Semitic crimes recorded, 48 percent were ascribed to far-right actors while 31 percent were recorded as motivated by a "foreign ideology". Asked whether he thought the rise of the AfD had played a role in the growth of far-right crime, Dobrindt said that "all who contribute towards polarisation are part of this development". This year the anti-immigration AfD came second in February's general election, with its best-ever score of over 20 percent. Earlier this month Germany's domestic intelligence service classified the AfD as a "right-wing extremist" organisation, through this has been suspended pending an appeal by the party. The designation reignited a long-standing debate about whether the party should be banned, but Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he is sceptical about such a move, which would have to clear high legal hurdles. Dobrindt echoed these concerns, saying the report presented by the BfV intelligence agency "isn't sufficient to start the process of banning" the party. But he said there was "no doubt that the biggest threat to democracy comes from right-wing extremism". Also on Tuesday, Germany's association of support centres for victims of far-right and racist violence said it had recorded 3,453 "right-wing attacks" last year. "This huge rise can only be understood in the context of a growing acceptance and propagation of far-right and anti-democratic opinions," the association's chairwoman Judith Porath said. jsk/fz/js
France 24
20-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Germany reports 40% jump in politically motivated crime
The number of such offences, which range from hate speech to acts of physical violence, reached a record high of 84,172, almost half of them motivated by far-right ideology. Interior Minster Alexander Dobrindt said political tensions were heightened in 2024 amid European and regional elections, including one in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) topped a state vote for the first time. He noted a rise in crimes directed against politicians, activists and party offices. Speaking alongside Dobrindt was Holger Muench, chief of the federal police, who said the figures "reflect a polarisation and radicalisation in society" and showed that Germany's "democracy is under pressure". Dobrindt noted a "fast-growing development... of extreme right-wing youth movements", which were notably targeting events for the LGBTQ+ community. The figures also showed a 15.3 percent rise in the number of violent offences to 4,107. Another factor driving last year's jump in politically motivated crimes was "international crises", notably the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that had fuelled a rise in anti-Semitic offences. Of the 6,236 anti-Semitic crimes recorded, 48 percent were ascribed to far-right actors while 31 percent were recorded as motivated by a "foreign ideology". Asked whether he thought the rise of the AfD had played a role in the growth of far-right crime, Dobrindt said that "all who contribute towards polarisation are part of this development". This year the anti-immigration AfD came second in February's general election, with its best-ever score of over 20 percent. Earlier this month Germany's domestic intelligence service classified the AfD as a "right-wing extremist" organisation, through this has been suspended pending an appeal by the party. The designation reignited a long-standing debate about whether the party should be banned, but Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he is sceptical about such a move, which would have to clear high legal hurdles. Dobrindt echoed these concerns, saying the report presented by the BfV intelligence agency "isn't sufficient to start the process of banning" the party. But he said there was "no doubt that the biggest threat to democracy comes from right-wing extremism". Also on Tuesday, Germany's association of support centres for victims of far-right and racist violence said it had recorded 3,453 "right-wing attacks" last year. "This huge rise can only be understood in the context of a growing acceptance and propagation of far-right and anti-democratic opinions," the association's chairwoman Judith Porath said. © 2025 AFP
DW
20-05-2025
- Politics
- DW
From AfD to Reform UK: The far right and European politics
At the beginning of May, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic intelligence agency, classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a "confirmed right-wing-extremist" party. The AfD is now challenging this decision in court. The BfV has announced that it will not use the extremism label until the court rules on the matter. The classification as right-wing-extremist has reignited debate in Germany about whether the AfD should be banned. No other country in Europe is considering such a ban to contain the ascendant far right. In some countries, in fact, similar parties are part of the government or, in some cases, even lead it. DW looks at where far-right parties stand in several European countries. Freedom Party of Austria Chancellor Christian Stocker, of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) does not consider Herbert Kickl 's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) right-wing-extremist. Austria's other political parties have not committed themselves to avoid cooperation with the FPÖ. The ÖVP has formed coalition governments with the FPÖ twice already, the first time back in 2000. This was seen as a scandal in the European Union at the time, and, for a few months, other EU member states kept their relations with the Austrian government to a minimum. The FPÖ is relatively young in the history of Austria's parliament. The party was founded in 1955 by a former Nazi functionary and later softened its views. Like the AfD, the FPÖ is critical of immigration, globalization and the European Union. However, the FPÖ appears more willing to compromise and appears less ideological, perhaps due to the number of times it has been part of government, including at the national level. Last year, it won the parliamentary elections for the first time, garnering 28.8% of the vote. Nevertheless, it was unable to form a coalition government. In the meantime, however, it is even stronger in the polls than it was during the election. France: The National Rally (NR) The National Rally has come a long way since it was founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen under the name Front National. When his daughter Marine Le Pen took the helm, she renamed the party and moved it — somewhat — towards the center. Although the party is still critical of immigration and Islam, it is no longer openly antisemitic. This approach helped it attract a new group of voters. Le Pen has run for president three times, most recently losing in the runoff, while still managing to secure more votes each time. Following a court ruling for misappropriation of public funds, Marine Le Pen was recently barred from running in elections for five years. Current polls show that if either she or the party leader, Jordan Bardella, were to run again, they would have a good chance of at least making it past the first round. In the 2024 parliamentary elections, the RN was the strongest party. The RN's penchant for protectionism and statism — in other words: the belief that the state can solve major problems — stands in stark contrast to the AfD's viewpoints. In any case, Le Pen has distanced herself from the AfD. The German party is allegedly too radical for her, but this could be a domestic political strategy to appear more respectable. Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni stands at the helm of the Brothers of Italy party, making her probably Europe's most successful far-right head of state. Many in the Brothers of Italy have a positive view of fascism, the Italian version of National Socialism. Giorgia Meloni once said that she had "an untroubled relationship with fascism" and that the former fascist head of government and Hitler ally Benito Mussolini was "a good politician." In the 2022 election campaign, which brought her party to power, her slogan was "God, Family and Fatherland." Meloni and her party campaign against abortions, LGTBQ+ people and, of course against migrants. In contrast to many similar politicians in Europe, Meloni has taken a clear stance against Russia in the Ukraine war. This is the main reason why she spoke of "irreconcilable differences" with the AfD. At the same time, Meloni has a close relationship with US President Donald Trump and is therefore valued in Brussels as a transatlantic mediator. Sweden Democrats The roots of the Sweden Democrats lie in the right-wing-extremist movement Bevara Sverige Svenskt (Sweden should remain Swedish). Shortly before the turn of the millennium, the party tried to distance itself from its roots and adopted a more moderate stance. The current party leader, Jimmie Akesson, is continuing this strategy and was successful in making the Sweden Democrats the second-strongest party in the 2022 parliamentary elections. Since then, the party has backed the minority government of conservative Prime Minister Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson. As with far-right parties in other countries, the most important issue for the Sweden Democrats is immigration. Widespread gang crime in Sweden's major cities has been instrumental in the Sweden Democrats' electoral success. While unusual for a party on the far right, the party has declared its support for climate protection. Netherlands: Party for Freedom (PVV) Since the 2023 parliamentary elections, Geert Wilders ' Party for Freedom has been the strongest party in the Netherlands and leads a coalition government together with three other parties. Because Wilders was too radical for the coalition partners, Dick Schoof, who has no party affiliation, became prime minister. The PVV is unique in that Wilders is the only party member; even MPs and ministers are officially only supporters of the party. This means that Wilders can also determine the party program alone and nominate candidates for elections himself. The PVV's priority is fighting irregular immigration and, above all, Islam. With his aim of banning the Koran and all new mosque buildings, Wilders takes the issue a step further than most. Before the recent election, however, Wilders said that he would put his views on Islam "in the freezer" in order to be able to govern. In addition, he campaigns against climate protection and the EU, which he sees as intrusive. Reform UK Party Reform UK has undergone several transformations: After breaking away from the UK Independence Party, whose main objective was withdrawing the UK from the EU, it became the Brexit Party. Once Brexit was achieved, the party renamed the Reform UK Party. At each step, the leading figure was Nigel Farage, the spectre of established British politics. In the meantime, the party has taken up the cause of drastically reducing the number of immigrants — and using this to pressure the ruling Labour Party as well as the Conservatives. Farage has been successful at accusing both parties of inaction. Just days after Reform UK performed well in regional elections, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to drastically reduce both unauthorized migration and migration for work. According to the latest national polls, Reform UK is just ahead of Labor and the Conservatives. Deputy party leader Richard Tice calls the official British goal of climate neutrality "absurd."
