The politics of Nigel Farage.

 

Nigel Farage

Occasionally, Nigel Farage does say something honest. He did say, "Politicians? Let's face it, they're all wankers, the lot of them." When he was the leader of UKIP, he described himself as a "Thatcherite." After Margaret Thatcher's death in 2013, Farage said that he was the only politician "keeping the flame of Thatcherism alive." He's also said that Vladimir Putin is the world leader that he most admires "as an operator."

An inquiry into the death of the ex-Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with polonium-210 by two Russian agents, concluded that his murder was 'probably' approved by Vladimir Putin. Nathan Gill, the former Welsh leader of Reform UK, has just been jailed for over ten years for taking bribes to make pro-Russian statements. I would be surprised, if many people who support Reform UK, actually know what their policies are. Reform UK are definitely committed to massively reducing public spending and some think they're a threat to the NHS and would introduce an American-style insurance system. 

Britain's class divide: the Cutteslowe Walls of Oxford.

 

Cutteslowe Walls Oxford

The English nationalism of people like Rupert Lowe, the former Reform UK MP, hardly bears scrutiny. I don't feel I have anything in common with Rupert Lowe at all. I'm not a multimillionaire and didn't go to a public school like Radley College.

Is there really such a thing as a British national identity? Have we all got the same identical interests - socially, politically, economically? Very often the British can't get on with one another. Regional and social class identities are often stronger in England than a British national identity. We have the Scouser, Geordie and the Tyke. A Scottish lorry driver, who once gave me a lift, said to me that as far as he was concerned, you could bomb everything south of Birmingham.

The Irish author and playwright, George Bernard Shaw, wrote: "It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth, without making some other Englishman hate or despise him."

In North Oxford, the Cutteslowe Walls, stood for a quarter of a century before they were demolished in 1959. They were built on an estate in an area known as Summertown, to divide the English middle-class residents from the working-class residents. The walls were seven feet high and topped with rotating iron spikes.

They say that in Berwick upon Tweed, some of the inhabitants consider themselves Scottish and some identify as English. Some inhabitants don't identify with either and consider themselves 'Berwickers' first.

Richard Cromwell

 

Richard Cromwell

They didn't fight the English civil war to behead a king, abolish monarchy, or to introduce democracy. General Thomas Fairfax, the leader of England’s ‘New Model Army’ claimed that he was fighting “to maintain the rights of the crown and kingdom jointly”, and for a King who would heed the advice of Parliament. We know from the transcripts of the Putney debates what Cromwell and Henry Ireton felt about manhood suffrage.

Cromwell called the execution of King Charles I, “a cruel necessity.” They felt that they had no choice because of the Kings intransigence and his refusal to bow to the will of Parliament. Oliver Cromwell ruled for less than a decade. He was constantly suspending Parliament because of factionalism. In March 1653, Cromwell staged a military coup. He accused MPs of corruption, procrastination and self-interest. He called some “whoremasters and others were drunkards.” They made him Lord Protector on December 16, 1653, when he was already Lord General.

At one period the country was ruled by Cromwell's Major Generals, who were very unpopular. The Major Generals were instructed to root out sin, discipline the nation, reform its manners and provide for the poor. They cracked down on blasphemy, swearing, drinking, adultery. They banned horse racing, bear baiting and cockfights.

Oliver Cromwell died in September 1658, and was succeeded by his son, Richard Cromwell. Richard Cromwell was nicknamed 'Queen Dick' and 'Tumble-down Dick'. He was seen as a weak leader and he didn't have the support of the army. He abdicated as Lord Protector on 25 May 1659, and fled to France to avoid his creditors. As a visiting Englishman, Richard Cromwell, was once invited to dine with Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, who was unware of who he was. The prince questioned Cromwell about the affairs in England and remarked:

“Well, that Oliver, tho’ he was a traitor and a villain, was a brave man, had great parts, great courage, and was worthy to command; but that Richard, that coxcomb and poltroon, was surely the basest fellow alive; what is become of that fool?” Cromwell replied, “He was betrayed by those he most trusted, and who had been most obliged by his father.”

When he returned to England in 1680, his wife Dorothy, had died. He lived out his days in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire and used the name, John Clarke. He died in 1712, aged 85. Although King Charles I, executed or sought to capture the Regicides, he didn’t go after Cromwell's son because he hadn't signed the death warrant.

Former Reform UK Welsh leader jailed for ten years for bribery.

 

Although many British politicians are suspected of being on the take, it's almost unheard of to charge and convict a British politician with bribery. Nevertheless, they've just given a 10-and-a-half-year jail sentence to Nathan Gill, the former Reform UK Welsh leader, for taking financial Russian bribes.

Gill, 52, from Llangefni, Anglesey, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery. As an MEP, and a key member of UKIP and Brexit party groups, he was paid by an alleged Russian asset, Oleg Voloshyn, to make pro-Russian speeches. Voloshyn, who is wanted for treason in the Ukraine, had described Gill's work as "outstanding." A Reform UK spokesman said they welcomed the sentence that Nathan Gill had received and described his actions as "reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable."

Although the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, has said in the past that Vladimir Putin is the world leader that he most admires, praising his skills "as an operator", he described Gill as a 'bad apple" who had betrayed him. The police believe that Gill was primarily motivated by financial need, but they also said that he had sympathy with the positions that he was being bribed to take. There have been calls for Farage's party to launch a thorough investigation to guarantee that pro-Russia links are rooted out of Reform UK.

Over many years, there have been numerous press reports about Russian money being used to finance anti-EU, ultra conservative, and far-rights groups, throughout Europe, with the aim of destabilising Europe. In France, the former political party Front Nationale, led by Marine Le Pen, is known to have accepted Russian money.

Sentencing Gill at the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said the former Reform UK Welsh leader, had betrayed trust placed in him by the public and had "advanced narratives advantageous to Russian interests concerning the Ukraine." Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "A traitor was at the very top of Reform UK, aiding and abetting a foreign adversary. Nigel Farage and his party are a danger to national security."