Nigel Farage has declared he has gone on “strike” while Prime Minister’s Questions proceed. But he has been brutally reminded of his record on workers’ rights.
As Keir Starmer rose to his feet on Wednesday, Farage said: “Every week at PMQs, I am attacked by the PM and Labour MPs, but have no right of reply.
“I am just a mere spectator. So I have decided to spectate from the public gallery today instead.”
Speaking to GB News, Mr Farage confirmed he is no longer planning to sit in the chamber for the weekly despatch box showdown.
“I shall listen to Prime Minister’s Questions from the gallery in the future,” Mr Farage said.
“There is no point in being there. I am on strike. I will continue until I get a question.”
But his workers’ rights record may be at odds with his decision – according to some onlookers.
During his years as a Member of the European Parliament, Farage repeatedly voted against legislation designed to protect workers. Records from the European Parliament show he opposed the Working Time Directive, which limited excessive working hours and guaranteed rest breaks. He also voted against measures to strengthen collective bargaining and against improvements to maternity and paternity leave.
Farage and his party have also argued for reducing employment regulations, describing them as a burden on businesses. He has previously supported scrapping certain EU-derived protections, including those on paid holidays, agency worker rights, and health and safety standards.
And most recently, he voted down Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, which is the “biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation”.
The bill will additionally give more than a million low-paid workers on zero hours the right to a new contract, and an extra 30,000 parents will gain new rights to paternity leave. It will also give partners the right to bereavement leave following a miscarriage.
As well as this, it will strengthen sick pay to a million of the lowest-paid workers and strengthen remedies against companies abusing rules on collective redundancy by bolstering overall enforcement powers against rogue employers.