War in Ukraine ‘needs concessions on both sides’, says Nigel Farage

Published

12 months ago

November 9, 2024

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The war in Ukraine needs “concessions on both sides” if it is to come to an end, Nigel Farage has said.

The Reform UK leader suggested the invaded nation could gain “quite a lot from settling”, though he refused to say if this meant giving up territory to Russia in return.

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Mr Farage was speaking to Sky News after travelling back from America following his ally Donald Trump’s election victory.

Asked about the president-elect’s claims he could end the war in Ukraine “on day one”, Mr Farage said: “Well, the war is horrendous. There are nearly a million battle casualties. It’s like the battle of the Somme with drones.

“We have two options. We can keep feeding Ukraine, and that’s fine. And the war goes on for another year, two years, five years. The casualties mount. What Trump has said is he wants to attempt to broker a peace deal.”

The Clacton MP said that would require “concessions on both sides”, adding: ” I think Ukraine could actually gain quite a lot.”

He would not be drawn on whether that could mean Ukraine giving up territory, but said that “any negotiation is going to involve things that the other side don’t like”.

He added: “I think that the appeal to Ukraine would be part of that negotiation would be that Ukraine would become a full part of NATO. Now, Putin would hate that… but that would have to be part of the deal.

“If there were territorial concessions, that’s all for the negotiations.”

Pressed on if he thinks Ukraine should be open to territorial concessions, he said: “I’m not playing your silly game. I think there should be peace talks.”

He added that while former prime minister Boris Johnson, a staunch backer of Ukraine, wants “the war to go on forever… all wars end either in negotiation, with concessions or annihilation”.

Armed conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in early 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and escalated in February 2022 when Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion.

Mr Farage previously drew criticism for his views on the conflict during the UK’s general election campaign, when he said the West “provoked” Russia into the invasion with NATO’s and the EU’s expansion.

He ultimately won the seat for Clacton in Essex, but has since faced criticism for not spending enough time in his constituency.

Asked about this during his interview, Mr Farage said: “I’ve just exchanged contracts on the house that I’ll be living there in, is that good enough?”

He also questioned how much time Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spends in his constituency, or Lib Dem leader Ed Davey, saying things were different for party leaders than backbench MPs.

“I am representing Clacton, yes, but I’m also leading a national political party which is rapidly rising in the polls, which we have to build from the ground up,” he said.

“Today is Friday. Very often MPs are in constituencies on Friday. I’m in Wales, we’re having an inaugural Reform UK conference here. We’re looking to the Senedd elections.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be in Exeter. If you’re a national party leader, it’s different.”

After the interview, a source close to Mr Farage said: “Nigel has been to Clacton more than 10 times since being elected. He has kept his promise to have a property in the constituency, writes a weekly column for the Clacton Gazette (10 weeks in a row) and is having two further visits next week.”

Politics

Cutting cash ISA allowance could backfire – and make mortgages more expensive, MPs warn

Published

6 hours ago

October 25, 2025

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Cutting cash ISA allowance could backfire - and make mortgages more expensive, MPs warn

Cutting the annual allowance for cash ISAs could backfire in multiple ways, an influential group of MPs has warned the government.

For months, speculation has been growing that the chancellor may slash the yearly limit for tax-free savings – potentially from £20,000 to £10,000.

The government is hoping to encourage savers to invest in stocks and shares ISAs instead, which can offer greater long-term returns and improve financial health.

But according to the Treasury Committee, slashing allowances would be unlikely to achieve this – and could lead to higher prices for consumers.

Building societies rely on cash ISA savings to fund mortgage lending – and a drop in deposits might lead to higher interest rates or fewer products on the market.

Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said “we are a long way” from achieving a culture where substantial numbers of Britons invest in the stock market.

“This is not the right time to cut the cash ISA limit,” she warned. “Instead, the Treasury should focus on ensuring that people are equipped with the necessary information and confidence to make informed investment decisions.

“Without this, I fear the chancellor’s attempts to transform the UK’s investment culture simply will not deliver the change she seeks, instead hitting savers and borrowers.”

The latest figures suggest two-thirds of contributions to ISAs in the 2023/24 tax year went to cash accounts – bringing total holdings to £360bn.

An estimated 14.4 million consumers solely save in a cash ISA, with the average balance standing at £6,993.

Surveys suggest that, if allowances were cut, consumers may move their cash to alternative savings accounts where they would have to pay tax on interest.

Skipton Group executive Charlotte Harrison previously warned: “Building societies, which funds over a third of all first-time buyer mortgages, rely on retail deposits like cash ISAs to fund their lending.

“If ISA inflows fall, the cost of funding is likely to rise, and that means mortgages could become both more expensive and harder to access.”

She claimed a policy change could end up “penalising savers who want low-risk, flexible options” – adding: “Cash ISAs work. Undermining them doesn’t.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “At the moment, often returns on savings and returns on pensions are lower than in comparable countries around the world.

“I do want to make sure that when people put something aside for the future, they get good returns on those savings.”

The committee’s warning comes amid speculation over whether Ms Reeves will raise income tax at next month’s budget – breaking a key Labour manifesto pledge.

Newspaper reports have suggested that the basic rate of income tax could be increased for the first time since the 1970s – up 1p to 21%.

This could raise about £8bn and help tackle a black hole in the country’s finances, but risks squeezing consumers further as a cost-of-living crisis continues.

A 1p rise to the higher band of income tax – taking that rate to 41% – is also believed to be under consideration, but this would only boost the nation’s coffers by £2bn.

Ms Reeves has refused to rule out such a move, telling Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates that she is looking at both tax rises and spending cuts ahead of her statement to the Commons on 26 November.

Politics

Bank of England probes data-mining lending strategies fueling AI bets

Published

9 hours ago

October 25, 2025

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Bank of England probes data-mining lending strategies fueling AI bets

The Bank of England is worried that a rise in financiers’ lending to data center lending may cause an AI bubble reminiscent of the dot-com crash in the early 2000s.