Well, this is something. Nigel Farage, the firebrand who has spent his career ripping into immigrants and fraternising with some of the most polarising figures in world politics, now looks like he is attempting to put the genie back in the bottle – following comments he made to The Telegraph this weekend.
After years of fanning the flames, Nigel Farage is now ‘worried’ about the far-right
The Reform leader has been unapologetic in expressing his conservative viewpoints over the years. But critics argue he has gone much further than that, pointing to accusations of racism and antisemitism during his days as a student, and the mistruths he peddled in order to deliver Brexit.
Farage is also someone who has previously been happy to be judged by the company he keeps. A close confidante of Donald Trump – at least up until the president tired of him – has also expressed his support for controversial right-wing figures such as Javier Milei, Marine Le Pen, and Elon Musk.
Whatever his associations, the ‘far-right’ tag attached to Mr. Farage has largely been acquired through his own actions. The 61-year-old has done more than most to stir-up anti-immigration sentiment since the turn of the century – but he now feels there are others who are taking it too far.
Reform leader thrown by his ‘intelligent friends’ entertaining pro-Nazi narratives
Referring to recent comments made by Tucker Carlson, the Clacton MP said he was ‘astonished’ to hear the prominent US broadcaster question if winning World War II was ‘good for the UK’. He believes there’s now a growing trend of people on the right somewhat sympathising with Hitler and the Nazis.
Whether a bout of self-awareness follows remains to be seen. But Farage directly stated that the far-right are now ‘a cause for concern’. Go figure…
“Some people now – particularly this group of quite intelligent, conservative American commentators – question if we should have fought against Hitler as all. Tucker Carlson is someone I’ve always regarded as a friend, but I was astonished by his recent remarks.”
“We know about the extreme left, but I’m also worried about the far-right, both here and in America. That’s an even more pertinent and important reason why we come out to remember what those before us did, so that we could enjoy liberty and free speech.” | Nigel Farage