A campaign to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has been boosted in the past few weeks, with efforts to raise £300,000 for a new rescue boat now bringing the target into touching distance. What’s more, than man behind the fundraiser has an ironic name waiting in the wings.
Buying an RNLI boat and naming it after Nigel Farage? It’s all part of the plan…
Simon Harris, who runs the ‘Men Behaving Dadly‘ page on Facebook and frequently posts across social media platforms, will unofficially name the new vessel after Nigel Farage – in a nod to the hard-line stance that the Reform leader has taken against the RNLI in recent months.
“I am trying to raise enough money to buy a new lifesaving hovercraft for the RNLI, and I would like it to be called ‘The Flying Farage’. I feel this would be incredibly appropriate, as Mr. Farage has taken such an active interest in their activities. Please give generously!” | Simon Harris
Nigel Farage vs the RNLI
Their obligations to rescue migrants during dangerous boat crossings across the English Channel have irked right-leaning politicians, with Farage leading the campaign against their interventions. He has previously hit out at the RNLI, calling the a ‘taxi service’ for asylum seekers.
This heated rhetoric has been something of a double-edged sword for the organisation, who now find themselves targeted by Reform supporters and right-wing commentators. However, Farage’s high-profile criticism has also led to a surge in donations to the RNLI.
With the political debate about the RNLI’s role in these rescue missions intensifying, those looking to defend the 200-year-old institution have also stepped up their efforts. Harris’ campaign has received almost 1,000 individual donations in the last few years, taking the current total up to £270,000.
Simon Harries revels in criticism, as £300,000 target comes into view
With just 10% of the target left to knock-off, successful social media drives and grassroots activism have helped the fundraiser get to this point. Harris has also leveraged criticism of the project to raise further awareness, and in a Facebook post this week, he riled up his detractors once more…
“I don’t want to make people even angrier by saying my appeal to buy a rescue boat called ‘The Flying Farage’ [has now reached] a quarter of a million quid. The money is being ringfenced for lifeboat stations in the South East, that are regularly called out to assist with small boats”. | Simon Harris