How Nigel Farage is flirting with Labour’s most loyal voters – and the battle to stop him
For much of its history, the trade union movement’s main opponent has been the Conservative Party. But now it finds itself taking on a different type of adversary – one it might describe as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
It began when Nigel Farage, known for being a staunch advocate of free trade and private markets, declined to criticise the Unite union for its bin strike in Birmingham, before calling for the nationalisation of British Steel following the near collapse of its plant in Scunthorpe.
The Reform UK leader has been sweet-talking the trade unions, speaking their language and brandishing their leaflets in public in what appears to his critics to be a new opportunistic strategy.
Farage’s courting of union members has alarmed the movement’s leaders – so much so that Sky News understands the executive of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents unions across the country, has been holding meetings to draw up a strategy on how best to combat his appeal and more broadly, the far-right.
Over the weekend, as the two main parties were processing the battering they received in the local elections largely courtesy of Farage’s party, Unison’s general secretary Christina McAnea urged members of councils now controlled by Reform to join a union.
“Unions are there to ensure no one can play fast and loose with the law,” she said, after Farage threatened to sack staff working in areas such as diversity or climate change.
‘Political fraud’
Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the TUC, has begun to step up his criticism of the former UKIP leader – accusing him of “cosplaying as a champion of working people”.
“He is not on the side of the working people,” he tells Sky News. “He’s on the side of bad bosses who want to treat staff like disposable labour.
“Unions will continue to expose him for the political fraud he is.”
At the moment, that campaign is largely focused on highlighting Farage’s voting record – in particular his decision to oppose the Employment Rights Bill, legislation unions say they have wanted for decades.
The bill offers protection from unfair dismissal from the first day of employment and sick pay for all workers from the first day of absence, among other measures.
The TUC says the bill is incredibly popular – and not just among Labour voters.
According to a poll it conducted of more than 21,000 people with campaign group Hope Not Hate, banning zero hours contracts is supported by more than seven in 10 UK voters – including two in three Reform voters from the 2024 election.
“People are going to find there are improvements to their life and work,” an insider tells Sky News. “We want them to understand who was for it, and who was against it.”
The TUC has also begun promoting videos on social media in which workers in the electric vehicle industry accuse Farage of threatening their jobs.
Farage’s response to the bill has been to claim that a clause within in that gives workers protection from third party harassment could herald the end of “pub banter”.
‘There has always been fellow feeling with unions’
But Gawain Towler, an ex-Reform press officer who has worked on and off for Farage for 20 years, insists his former boss isn’t against workers’ rights – he’s just opposed to Labour’s bill.
“Reform don’t see it as a workers rights’ bill – we think it takes away opportunities for work because it scares people away from employing people,” he says.
Nigel Farage campaigning during the local elections in Scunthorpe.
Pic: Reuters
He believes “mass migration” is the real obstacle to better wages and job security, and argues net zero policies are “costing union members their jobs”.
The government may point to a recent study suggesting the net zero sector has grown by 10% over the past year, supporting the equivalent of 951,000 full-time jobs.
For Farage’s allies, his courting of union members is neither disingenuous nor new.
“He’s anti-union management, he’s not anti-union,” says Towler, who noted Farage’s friendship with the late union leader and Brexit advocate Bob Crow.
“Nigel has always been a free trader, but he’s never been deeply partisan, which is why he was able to start the Brexit Party. There has always been that fellow feeling with unions.”
Indeed, on one issue, a commonality is emerging between Reform and the GMB union.
While general secretary Gary Smith has criticised Farage for being “soft on Russia” and for voting against the Employment Rights Bill, there is an agreement between the pair over the impact of net zero.
Those sceptical of the government’s plans for the green transition point to Port Talbot in Wales, where 2,500 workers are expected to lose their jobs, and Grangemouth, where the closure of Scotland’s last remaining oil refinery is expected to result in around 400 job losses.
Members of Unite union protest at plans to close Grangemouth oil refinery.
Pic: PA
Although Unite has no common truck with Reform, it has warned there should be “no ban without a plan” when it comes to issuing new oil and gas licences.
‘Labour has one shot with workers’
For some unions, Labour’s position on certain issues has provided Reform with an opening.
There’s disappointment at some Labour policies in government – from partly watering down the Employment Rights Bill to stave off dissent from business leaders, to welfare cuts and offering below-inflation pay rises for public sector workers.
Gawain Little, the general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions, tells Sky News the party risks leaving “space open for fakers like Farage to come along and pretend they have people’s interests at heart”.
Only a sense that austerity is over, likewise the cost of living crisis, will truly “challenge” the Reform leader, he says.
One GMB member says Farage’s strategy is “from the same playbook” as right-wing parties in Europe, such as the AfD in Germany and Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy.
By “continuously legitimising” Reform by talking tough on migration, union activists who usually get the word out for Labour have been left demoralised.
Farage on the picket line?
The current distance with some unions did not start in government. It began in opposition, when Labour refused to back workers who were on strike and when the party did not endorse some candidates put forward by some of the more left-wing unions.
But so far, sources in Labour have dismissed Farage’s tactics as just words – and believe his previous anti-union rhetoric will weigh against him when he tries to court votes.
In fact, Mr Farage’s calls for the renationalisation of steel have been interpreted as him “trying to jump on the bandwagon” of Labour’s success.
However, Damian Lyons Lowe, the founder of pollster Survation, spots danger for Labour if Farage is able to successfully tilt in the direction of workers’ rights – especially if the government finds itself unable to follow.
He says taking the side of unions in an industrial dispute over pay would be an example of a classic “wedge” strategy that Farage can deploy to back Labour into a corner.
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And given the government’s initial 2.8% pay offer to public sector workers is below that reportedly drawn up by the independent pay review body for NHS workers and teachers, there is the very real prospect this scenario could arise.
“It could pose a real threat to Labour,” Lyons Lowe says, with union members in “post-industrial” areas potentially receptive to a message of “protectionism, industrial revival, and national self-sufficiency”.
Could what started with Farage brandishing leaflets end up with him joining the picket line?
While one union insider doesn’t think Farage will ultimately convince union leaders, members may be tempted.
The Starmer government has “one shot to deliver for workers”, they warn.
“If they don’t, Farage and Reform are waiting in the wings.”
Dozens of people have gathered at a Sikh temple to attend an emergency meeting after police in the West Midlands said they are investigating the rape of a woman as a “racially motivated attack”.
The victim, reported to be a British-born Sikh aged in her 20s, told officers a racist remark was made to her during the attack in Oldbury, which was reported to police just before 8.30am on Tuesday.
The Sikh Federation (UK) said the perpetrators allegedly told the woman during the attack: “You don’t belong in this country, get out.”
Jas Singh, principal advisor to the Sikh Federation (UK), was among the group of faith and community leaders responsible for holding the meeting at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara temple in Smethwick, a few miles from Oldbury, following concerns within the community.
“I think if you look at it in the context of the climate, it makes it even more worrying because there is a trend of hatred… the targeting of migrants,” he said.
“Ultimately, what that means is the targeting of people’s skin colour, and as Sikhs we have the most distinct, unique identity,” he added.
“We bear the brunt of all prejudice and ignorance, and hate.”
Principal advisor to the Sikh Federation (UK) Jas Singh
Similar sentiments were raised at the meeting, with many horrified by the reports of the sexual assault as well as concerns about their own safety.
“People are trying to divide us,” said a woman in her 30s, who did not want to be named but said, as a Sikh woman, she wanted to be present to have her voice heard.
She was not only referencing the sexual assault but also what she believes has been an increase in overt discrimination.
“Let’s call it what it is, this is racism,” she told the meeting, as she broke down in tears.
Reverend Nick Ross, from Smethwick’s Holy Trinity Church, was also in attendance at the emergency meeting.
He commented on “offensive” graffiti that had been left on the side of the wall of the Sikh temple, while saying his Anglican church had also been defaced.
“We cannot just ignore it, it will go on and it will build, and there will be incidents like this,” he said, referencing racial tensions across the country.
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Faith and community leaders organised the meeting at the Sikh temple
Police are still trying to identify the perpetrators of the attack and want to speak to anyone who may have seen two white men in the area.
The first is described as having a shaved head and a heavy build, and was wearing a dark sweatshirt with gloves on, and the second was reportedly wearing a grey top with a silver zip.
Chief Superintendent Kim Madill, of Sandwell Police, said: “We are working really hard to identify those responsible, with CCTV, forensic and other inquiries well under way.
“We fully understand the anger and worry that this has caused, and I am speaking to people in the community today to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to identify and arrest those responsible.
“Incidents like this are incredibly rare, but people can expect to see extra patrols in the area.”
The number of roadworks in Britain has more than doubled in the past two years – and frustrated drivers are more likely than ever to get stuck behind temporary traffic lights.
Exclusive data obtained by Sky News reveals there were 425,524 miles of roadworks across the UK last year. That’s enough to stretch around the world a whopping 17 times.
It marks a 110% increase compared to 2023, when there were 203,000 miles of lane closures.
Part of the reason for the surge is the 2019 pledge by then prime minister Boris Johnson to roll out full fibre broadband to every corner of the nation as part of his “levelling up” agenda.
A promise made by Boris Johnson has been partially blamed for the rise in roadworks. File pic: Reuters
Causeway Technologies infrastructure director Nick Smee told Sky News: “It’s absolutely true that the rollout of super-fast fibre has caused a huge spike because we all want those facilities.
“The problem is you can’t do it without digging up the roads.”
‘The rollout of super-fast fibre has caused a huge spike,’ Nick Smee says
The original deadline for Johnson’s ‘Project Gigabit’ was this year, but this has been delayed to 2032, meaning drivers could face at least another six years of disruptions.
Meanwhile, the government is hoping another 100,000 public electric vehicle charging points will be installed by the end of the decade, which will inevitably lead to more asphalt being ripped up for the cables to be laid.
Roadworks are now a regular occurrence in large parts of the country, with emergency repairs often needed for leaking Victorian water pipes and other utilities.
In some cases, the same streets are repeatedly dug up in quick succession, leading to misery for motorists and an increased risk of potholes.
Drivers in London trundled through 490,893 roadworks in 2024, the highest number nationwide, averaging more than 1,300 sites across the capital every day.
Kent recorded 134,430 projects, and Surrey had 132,291. Essex and Hampshire complete the list of the top five roadwork hotspots.
Heavy machinery carrying out roadworks in London
In January 2024, the then Conservative government said it would crack down on disruptive street works.
The Labour government stood by the pledge and said it would start charging firms that unnecessarily leave roads closed over weekends, which hadn’t previously been possible.
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Officials also planned to double fines for delayed roadworks by this summer. However, the Department for Transport has now told Sky News that won’t happen until next year at the earliest “due to other high priority legislative work pushing it back”.
Clive Bairsto, chief executive of the trade association Street Works UK, said: “If you overfine people, the industry will be forced to use firms of less integrity and you’ll end up with the poor performers being used to do jobs rather than the good performers, which is what we want to encourage.”
The leader of a self-styled African tribe living in a Scottish woodland has vowed his group will stay put despite a court order stating the encampment should be removed.
A sheriff on Friday issued a warrant for the removal of the so-called Kingdom of Kubala, which has been camped near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders for the past few weeks.
The three members of the self-proclaimed kingdom have said they’re reclaiming land that was stolen from their ancestors 400 years ago.
Kofi Offeh, 36, is the leader of the group and the self-proclaimed King Atehene. The other two members are his wife Jean Gasho, 43, who calls herself Queen Nandi, and “handmaiden” Kaura Taylor, who calls herself Asnat.
The group says it is reclaming stolen land. Pic: PA
After the warrant was issued on Friday, they showed no inclination to leave.
Speaking at the campsite, Mr Offeh said: “The creator of the heavens and the Earth is the one with us.
“We are not afraid of whatever the court – the so-called court – has granted.”
Asked if they plan to move, he replied: “If the creator of the heavens and the Earth wants us to move from this land, he shall find us a place to go.”
Part of a court course summons letter at the campsite. Pic: PA
Issuing the order at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Friday morning, Sheriff Peter Paterson said it would come into effect immediately.
None of the members of the so-called kingdom were in court and they did not have legal representation.
The civil action was brought after the trio ignored a previous eviction notice, which said they had to leave by 5pm on Monday.
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Kaura Taylor (left) calls herself Asnat and Jean Gasho goes by Queen Nandi. Pic: PA
Earlier, Jedburgh councillor Scott Hamilton said the landowner had been left with “no option” but to take legal action.
He said: “The council will be supporting the landowner through the next steps and all the additional safety measures will remain in place until this situation is resolved.
“Whilst this next stage of the eviction process plays out, please can I remind people not to engage with this group.”
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