Leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage MP, addressed a large audience on the Isle of Wight on Monday night at GG’s Bar and Restaurant on the outskirts of Newport.
The Member of Parliament for Clacton was stood beside huge letters that read ‘Reform Will Fix It’.
Defence and national humiliation
Mr Farage opened his half hour speech with sharp criticism of the UK’s inability to respond militarily to the Iran situation, saying HMS Dragon couldn’t be refitted in time, an RAF base was hit by Iranian missiles, and Britain had to rely on the French and Greek navies.
He called it a total humiliation and blamed both Labour and 14 years of Conservative government for allowing the armed forces to be stripped back.
Attack on both major parties
Mr Farage laid into the Conservatives for raising taxes to post-war highs, enabling mass migration (claiming only 20% of the last three million arrivals had work permits), breaking promises, and betraying Brexit.
He was equally scathing about Kier Starmer’s Labour, predicting he’d be gone by end of May and replaced by Miliband or Rayner.
Economy and energy
Mr Farage said Britain is in economic decline, with small businesses being hammered and hospitality particularly punished, which he noted is devastating for a tourism-dependent island.
He attacked net zero policy and the UK’s reliance on imported gas with only two days’ supply, and pledged Reform would drill for oil, frack for gas, and re-industrialise the country.
Immigration
Mr Farage described a “societal mess” caused by uncontrolled mass migration, referenced pro-Iranian demonstrations in Birmingham, and promised that under Reform, anyone arriving illegally by boat would not be allowed to stay.
He committed to leaving the European Convention on Human Rights to regain border control. This resulted in huge applause from the audience.
Call to action for the Isle of Wight
The core pitch was mobilisation ahead of the May council elections. He said he believes Reform can win control of the Isle of Wight council, and that doing so would lead to winning both parliamentary seats at the next general election.
He said, if Reform won both IW MP seats,
“You never know, maybe even more people will come and visit you on a regular basis.”
He asked people to join, volunteer, stand as candidates, and spread the word – and promised to return to the Island for a victory party if they win.
Personal motivation
Mr Farage said he came back into politics 20 months ago despite not needing to, because he couldn’t bear to see “Brexit squandered” and the country declining.
He referenced Reform topping the last 230 opinion polls and positioned the next general election as potentially the last chance to turn things around.
Watch
You can watch Nigel Farage’s entire performance on the YouTube video below (from just after one hour into the video), which also includes speeches from other Reform members earlier in the evening.
