Nigel Farage tells Beth Rigby the Tories have ‘betrayed’ Brexit and should accept worker shortages to cut immigration
Nigel Farage would “of course” accept worker shortages if it meant lower migration, the Eurosceptic campaigner has told Sky News – and wouldn’t rule out another attempt to become an MP.
Mr Farage was speaking to Beth Rigby Interviews… following the release of the latest net migration figures.
These showed the population grew by 606,000 due to people arriving in the UK in the year to December 2022.
This is clearly in opposition to what Mr Farage said would happen in the event of the UK leaving the European Union.
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Beth Rigby and Nigel Farage
He was asked if he would have accepted “worker shortages” to reduce net migration to 50,000 as he campaigned for in the 2019 election.
Mr Farage said: “If that meant there was a realistic chance of people finding somewhere to live?
“A school for their kids to go to that was local people getting access to the National Health Service, then? Yes, of course.”
He added that “before 2004 when this really kicked off, right, cabbages were not rotting in the fields of Lincolnshire”.
Mr Farage said: “Elderly people were not being left alone in old people’s homes – we managed to do all of this and we’ve now become addicted to cheap unskilled, foreign, imported labour.
“We have to reverse that process.”
Farage ‘hand on heart’ meant Brexit promises
A report from the National Farmers Union last year suggested a shortage of workers led to £22m of fruit and vegetables being lost in the first half of 2022.
Mr Farage said – had he been in power – he would have reduced net migration down to around 30,000 – around 5% of what it is now.
Last year, some 45,755 people alone arrived in the UK in small boats across the Channel.
He also denied “hand on heart” that he was dishonest about the promises he made over Brexit.
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Nigel Farage speaks to Beth Rigby
Asked what he would specifically target to reduce net migration, Mr Farage took aim at the salary requirement for a skilled worker visa – which he said was set at “minimum wage”.
According to the government website, people need to be paid “at least £26,200 per year or £10.75 per hour” to qualify for such a way into the UK – although it would need to be more if the average earning for your sector is higher.
The minimum wage is £10.42 for those aged 23 and over, and falls to £10.18 for 21 and 22-year-olds, and again to £7.49 for 18 to 20-year-olds.
Mr Farage also said he wouldn’t have allowed students to bring in dependents with them on educational visas – something the Conservative government is now changing.
He claimed the reason for such a discrepancy between his campaigning and the current situation was that he “wasn’t in charge” – and took aim at the Conservative Party all the way from the result of the Brexit referendum.
Mr Farage said that the day after the vote to leave the “very people I’d fought against for 25 years” were still in power.
He claimed he “got rid of [Theresa] May” and that without him Boris Johnson “wouldn’t have even been prime minister”.
Tory promises in 2019 were ‘a big lie’
Mr Farage, who is now president of the Reform Party, was a figurehead for the Brexit Party – its predecessor – in 2019, which swept the board to become the largest UK party in the European elections that year.
When it came to the 2019 general election, the party did not win any seats, but did stand aside in areas the Conservatives already held to avoid splitting the Brexit-supporting vote there.
Mr Farage lobbied the government on its handling of Brexit negotiations as Brexit Party leader
But the Brexit campaigner now thinks the 2019 manifesto put to the country by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives was a “big lie” – a phrase Donald Trump uses to refer to the result of the last US general election, which he lost.
“I stood aside in that 2019 general election, helping them to get that big majority, because I believed that perhaps finally they understood what Brexit was about,” Mr Farage told Beth Rigby.
“And we’ve now, four years down the road, got a Remainer, globalist Conservative Party who have betrayed that trust.”
Globalist is again a term utilised by Trump, who Mr Farage has appeared alongside numerous times and also interviewed.
Rishi Sunak, the current prime minister, has long supported Brexit.
Mr Johnson was a lead figure in the Brexit campaign, and while Liz Truss supported Remain in the 2016 vote, she has since campaigned to be tough on the EU.
Mr Farage hinted that he may be considering running for parliament again – having never successfully contested a Westminster seat.
Mr Farage has never run successfully for a Westminster seat
A change to the electoral system would make a run more likely, he added.
The former UKIP leader predicted “another insurgency” in UK politics – “whether it’ll be Reform, whether it’ll be me, whether we get a new Nick Griffin [the former leader of the far-right British National Party]”.
Mr Farage said: “I think if I stood again, it would be a much more revolutionary agenda than just Brexit.”
You can watch Beth Rigby Interviews in full with Nigel Farage on Sky News at 9pm tonight
World
Three charged over killing of Sikh separatist leader in Canada – in incident which sparked diplomatic spat with India
Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a temple by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver, on 18 June 2023.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police assistant commissioner David Teboul said police could not comment on the nature of the evidence or the motive.
“This matter is very much under active investigation,” Teboul said.
The three suspects – Indian nationals Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar and Karampreet Singh – were arrested in Edmonton, Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Superintendent Mandeep Mooker said: “This investigation does not end here. We are aware that others may have played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to finding and arresting each one of these individuals.”
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Canada killing ‘linked’ to India govt
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparked a diplomatic feud with India when he said in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing. India angrily denied involvement.
Mr Nijjar, an Indian-born citizen of Canada, was a leader in what remains of the Khalistan movement – a once-strong group calling for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland.
He was organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death and had denied allegations of ties to terrorism.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its power but is still supported by some in the Punjab state in northwestern India and in the Sikh diaspora overseas.
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A violent, decade-long Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, and was ultimately crushed in a government crackdown which saw thousands of people killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
In June 1984, Indian forces stormed the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, where separatists had taken refuge.
In more recent years, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
Read more: What is the Khalistan movement?
Mr Trudeau’s accusation angered India PM Narendra Modi. File pic: AP
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The diplomatic row saw diplomats expelled by both India and Canada.
The Indian government said it “completely rejected” Mr Trudeau’s allegations and added: “We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”
The dispute derailed trade talks between the two countries and ultimately saw Canada withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India.
At the time, Canada did not provide public evidence to back up Mr Trudeau’s allegations. However, it did reveal the claims were based on intelligence provided by a major ally and surveillance of Indian diplomats in the country.
Heavy rains in southern Brazil have killed 37 people, local authorities have said, with dozens still unaccounted for.
More than 70 people are missing and at least 23,000 people have been displaced in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the state’s civil defence agency.
In some cities, water levels have been at their highest since records began almost 150 years ago, the Brazilian Geological Service said.
It said the flooding is the worst to hit the state in more than 80 years, surpassing that of a historic deluge in 1941.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns, with bridges destroyed and the storm triggering landslides and the partial collapse of a dam structure at a hydroelectric power plant.
A drone view of Lajeado in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
Residents near to a second dam in the city of Bento Goncalves have been ordered to evacuate, as fears of another collapse grow.
“It’s not just another critical situation, it’s probably the most critical case the state has ever recorded,” Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said on social media.
He added the number of deaths will likely rise as authorities have not been able to reach some locations.
A birds-eye view of the flooding in Sao Sebastiao do Cai, in Rio Grande do Sul. Pic: AP
The devastation in Lajaedo. Pic: Jeff Botega/Agencia RBS via Reuters
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has travelled to the state to visit affected locations and discuss rescue efforts with the governor.
The state is at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, which has created periods of intense rains and others of drought.
Scientists believe the pattern has been intensifying due to climate change.
Roads have been turned into rivers in several towns. Pic: AP
Heavy rains hit the state last September, as an extratropical cyclone caused floods that killed more than 50 people.
That came after more than two years of a persistent drought due to the La Nina phenomenon.
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World
UK plans to ramp up weapons production for Ukraine and Western defence as Lord Cameron reveals envoy will oversee ‘national priority’
The UK will appoint a new envoy to oversee a plan to ramp up the production of weapons and ammunition, which is now a “national priority”, the foreign secretary has revealed.
Lord Cameron, speaking on a visit to Ukraine, also underlined the importance of supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, warning that the world was at an “absolutely critical tipping point” and Kyiv must prevail or else Europe faced a “very dangerous future”.
However, he cautioned against an idea from French President Emmanuel Macron to consider sending NATO troops to Ukraine to join the fight if Russia’s Vladimir Putin achieves a breakthrough, saying that such a move would be a “dangerous escalation”.
“I don’t think it is right to have NATO soldiers killing Russian soldiers,” the foreign secretary said in an interview in the western city of Lviv on Friday, having met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top ministers in Kyiv on Thursday.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with Lord Cameron this week. Pic: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP
Lord Cameron made the two-day trip to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to Ukraine, which most recently includes a promise to transfer more of the British military’s own stockpiles of weapons, including precision-guided bombs and air defence missiles.
The UK has also promised at least £3bn worth of military assistance annually.
But Western nations are failing to deliver munitions to Ukraine’s frontline as quickly as Russia is rearming its military, with Russian troops gaining ground in the east in recent months.
President Putin put his economy on a war footing when he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – something NATO allies are only slowly starting to move towards.
Rishi Sunak said last week he would increase UK defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2030 – claiming this equated to an additional £75bn in investment.
He also said he was putting the UK defence industry on a “war footing” and added £10bn of new funding would be dedicated to domestic munitions production over the next decade.
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‘We need to build up our own stocks’
Asked how Britain could force defence companies like BAE Systems, Thales and Babcock – that have to answer to their shareholders, not the government – to increase production lines at the required rate and scale without some kind of legislation to force them to act, Lord Cameron revealed the plan for a new envoy for defence production.
“There is a specific munitions strategy of £10bn which will do exactly what you are talking about – the ramping up of production,” he said.
“But crucially I think we can go further than that in terms of a specific defence envoy with the ability from the prime minister to go out and make sure we are doing those muti-year deals with the defence suppliers because we need not only to provide more weapons to Ukraine, we need to build up our own stocks.
“So this is very important, it is a national priority.
“The prime minister is giving the lead and I think the industry will respond.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Pushed on whether the new envoy – whose identity has not yet been revealed – would be the modern-day equivalent of someone like Lord Beaverbrook, who was tasked with expanding aircraft production during the Second World War, Lord Cameron said: “It is the 21st century so there won’t be a Lord Beaverbrook.”
But he signalled that the envoy’s ability to approach industry with a commitment to fund multi-year contracts for munitions would be key – and could also drive down cost.
“It is possible to go to the defence contractors and say to them: ‘You are not going to get the price you might have hoped for year after year after year because we are going to make a contract with you over the coming years to make sure we replenish our ammunition, our artillery, our long rage fires, our missiles’ – those crucial things vital for Ukraine but also vital for our own defence.”
As for why the government needed to appoint a specific envoy to this role, Lord Cameron said: “You need I think to have that direct line to the prime minister to make sure we are making this the national priority it clearly is.”
Cameron warns of ‘dangerous future’
Turning to the war in Ukraine, the foreign secretary said Europe faced “two futures” – one in which Ukrainian forces, backed by Western weapons, are able to push out the Russian invaders and secure what he called a “just peace”.
“That is a footing on which you can see great security and prosperity for us and for Europe,” he said.
But he warned: “A future in which Putin is successful and Ukraine is pushed back is I think a very dangerous future.”
Nations such as Moldova and even the NATO states of the Baltics would be worried that President Putin might turn his attention towards them next, Lord Cameron said.
In addition, the authoritarian regimes in Iran and China would be watching closely.
“I think we are at an absolutely crucial tipping point in global affairs,” Lord Cameron added.
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