I keep wanting to hear journalists ask Farage real questions about what the Brexit Party stands for. Instead of letting him rant about the failure of democracy and the betrayal,of politicians - which are untrue on the issues he refers to - I wish they would just ask rhings like this:
- How will you deal with the Northern Ireland border?
- What trade deal do you want with Europe?
- How will you manage a trade deal with the USA when they say none is possible if there is a hard border in Northern Ireland?
- What EU law are you going to repeal if we Brexit as you wish? Would that have also been possible under May's deal?
- Why do you want to use WTO rules when no one else in the world does?
- You know that the WTO is a seriously discredited organisation, don't you? Why do you want to use its rule?
- No deal is technically impossible, as I am sure you know. If we say there are no rules the reality is everyone else will impose their rules on us. How are you going to manage that?
- How are you going to manage the disruption of a Hard Brexit?
- How many people will die in the UK because a Hard Brexit will deny them the drugs they need?
- Every credible organisation offering a Brexit forecast says it will cost UK jobs. How are you going to replace them?
You get my drift.
Why is no one asking?
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No one is asking because Farage’s movement so resembles something from 1930s Germany, with all the associated intolerance, that many politicians and journalists are too intimidated to hold him to account. This , sadly, is the new UK. The country that spent so many decades professing to have defeated Nazi Fascism, is now reviving it. Farage’s rallies are the most terrifying illustration of how large swathes of an uninformed population can fall prey to fantastic, empty promises, racist tropes and blinkered nationalism.
In the case of television – why would “entertainers” ask hard hitting questions? Are they functionally (or intellectually) capable of doing so?
Jeremy Paxman is often cited as a heavy weight interviewer – his entry into “show biz” was as a light weight in the Esther Rantzen show.
He and people like Marr are “entertainers” & give the likes of far-rage an easy ride (intentionally or otherwise).
A QC could forensically dismantle Far-rage.
BUT!
Other problems: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/may/15/one-in-four-northerners-earn-less-than-real-living-wage-says-study
Far-rage had a rapturous reception in Yorkshire – I wonder if it was connected to the above?
& to the fact that Labour (or the Lib-Dems or the Greens) have no narrative that resonates with those mentioned in the Guardian article.
A.J.P Taylor in “Origins of World War Two” came out with the hypothesis that Hitler was a chancer – caused trouble – and took advantage of what emerged from the trouble.
The same could be applied to Far-rage – a chancer -with a message that resonates (for a range of reasons) & a media that is focused on entertaining – rather than informing.
What is the point of asking Farage questions when he blatantly doesn’t know the answers.
He is an opportunist who is rebelling in the anger of malcontent in our political system.
Ask Andrew Marr about the questions he asked last Sunday.
Hopefully we must rely on the intelligent Great British public to see the bigger picture.
Nigel’s bubble will soon burst with the fear of heavier office and knowing that he doesn’t have any real political ability to deal with the big issues facing our country at this time.
Like a squib his dampness is seeping through for us all to witness.
Marr made the mistake of asking Ng about the past
I want answers now
I’m guessing because the media need material. They have to fill up the news with something. Once NIgel and/or the Change UK mob get asked any serious questions, they’re done as they don’t have any answers. The ball has to be kept up in the air, got to keep filling those shows, and the best way to do that is not to ask anything serious of either. Expect loads more waffle then.
I note Jeremy Hunt also has no answers
I agree Change UK have not – they are all out of jobs soon
The one I’d add (and yours are all brilliant BTW) is:
‘Once you have totally destroyed one of the better trading relationships we have and the lives that depend on them, do you intend to piss off and retire again so you do not face the consequences?’
*Previous caveat
He is someone who has thoughtfully considered his objectives and wishes only to achieve those objectives. Having exposed the democratic failure of parliament, he has (reluctantly) added reform of the Tory/Labour duopoly of power.
Nigel connot be both a demagogue who strives for power, and a shirking troublemaker who runs away from power? His message has been consistent and persistent.
Come on
Nigel has proved he is in this for Nigel
And the destruction of the state as we know it
Why else run for office and not say what you’ll do?
How is that remotely democratic – vote for me but I won’t say why
That’s the biggest con since the South Sea Bubble prospectus
‘Thoughtfully’ what?
All Farage is, is a spoiler, a wrecking ball – a wild card who disrupts other voting and democratic intentions, causes as much trouble as possible and then (with job done) sods off out of the way satisfied with what he has done and leaving others to clean up the mess.
I understand that this ‘bodge it and scarper’ attitude has something to do with his former employment who work along the same lines?
That he gets paid to essentially go to the EU to slag them off and disrupt meetings as a representative of the UK is absolutely disgraceful – its an affront to democracy really.
and why are you consorting with Right wing extremists like Bannon?
Are you getting any money from them?
Do you support his social agenda?
This evil idea that you-are-who-you-meet will destroy debate and thus democracy.
Please stop. I listen and talk to ANYONE, so should you, that is they way of understanding and peaceful coexistence.
My guess is they have exchanged information about the dirty tricks the “incumbents” use to disrupt innovators, and how to neutralise those dirty tricks.
The trouble is thge evil tricks do appear to be rather one sided
@ Peter Dawe
Bannon is on a mission, with serious and dark financial backing (Robert and Rebekah Mercer among others). Farage & his ‘Brexit’ campaign has been and is being used as a model for ‘students’ at his populist training academy in Italy (https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/04/18/what-is-steve-bannon-up-to-these-days). Farage is key player and everything he says and does is scripted, researched and well planned. He knows precisely what buttons to push. He’s been a one-trick pony for decades. With their dog-whistle tactics, these so-called ‘popularists’ are a massive threat to our national social stability and that of Europe as a whole.
While you may not wholly trust the Guardian’s objectivity, it has a good track record on uncovering unpalatable political truths – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/06/steve-bannon-far-right-radicalise-europe-trump.
If you want to achieve greater social justice, less disparity of wealth, environmental sustainability, overthrow the neo-liberal hegemony … etc. etc. then I suggest Farage, a classic snake-oil salesman, is definitely not the person to look to for leadership. The trouble is, like Trump, he thrives on criticism which further fuels his support among his target supporters. He is a problem and not a solution.
One can only hope and pray this proto-fascist tendency will run out of popular support before it can replicate 1930s’ history. In 1953, Hannah Arendt wrote that “the ideal subject of a totalitarian state is not the convinced Nazi or Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (that is, the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (that is, the standards of thought) no longer exist.” Not all history is bunk.
Personally I’m not as optimistic as I would like to be.
Peter Dawe
I AM willing to talk to anyone. The point is we know what Bannon stands for. Those like him are for division and corporate capture of the public sphere. Bannon helped Trump into power and he has slashed public services and tax for the mega-rich. He is taking away people’s health coverage and social rights are going into reverse.
Farage campaigned for Roy Moore in Alabama; a man who opposes LBGT and reproductive rights , in favour of not restricting guns, low taxes, has a record of racism and has had serious allegations made against him.
Dark money is coming into Europe from America and funding far right nationalist parties with their policies of division and intolerance.
Peaceful co-existance is not what they are about and I will not ‘stop it.’
Farage campaigned with the AfD is Germany
And they are very clearly climate change deniers
I really don’t know why and of course there are others like funding and the strange link up with the Spiked team eg. Claire Fox https://bylinetimes.com/2019/05/13/astroturfers-of-britain-part-two-who-is-behind-brexit-party-recruitment-and-its-pr-makeover/
The Brexit Party has a sister Irexit party. To say the Irexit party is not doing well would be an understatement. The Irexit party is polling at 0% plus or minus 3%. People joke that -3% is far more likely than 3%!
Good!
I think the media love to drum up a bit of drama. They want to dumb down serious discussion of political and economic subjects. They want to simplify everything and turn every interview into a ya-boo slanging match, thinking that this is fun and will increase viewing/listening statistics. There exceptions of course. Difficult to say why the senior BBC people allow this general drift to negativity and absurdity. On the one hand they are frightened of the licence fees being forced even lower and terrified of breaking the political reporting “balance”. The coverage that the Brexit party and formerly UKIP is way over the top of any balance and you rightly point out that Monsieur Farage escapes any scrutiny of specific policies and concentrates on the emotional anger of disaaffected voters.
Sorry, Nigel is busy, so I’ll give you my answers (As a Brexit supporter, not a spokesperson in any sense)
How will you deal with the Northern Ireland border?
Leave it open, (It is the EU that needs is closed)
What trade deal do you want with Europe?
Symmetric and as free as possible. One that isn’t a punishment, nor one that excludes UK having other trade agreements. ( Again it will be the EU that insists on restrictions)
How will you manage a trade deal with the USA when they say none is possible if there is a hard border in Northern Ireland?
See above
What EU law are you going to repeal if we Brexit as you wish? Would that have also been possible under May’s deal?
Too many to list.
Why do you want to use WTO rules when no one else in the world does?
This is an “if all else fails” with the EU. The balance of trade is in the EU’s favour, they will negotiate from a WTO base, once they have a credible negotiator from the UK.
You know that the WTO is a seriously discredited organisation, don’t you? Why do you want to use its rule?
See above
No deal is technically impossible, as I am sure you know. If we say there are no rules the reality is everyone else will impose their rules on us. How are you going to manage that? 9 A sloppy question but…
As best we can!
How are you going to manage the disruption of a Hard Brexit?
As best we can, with the help of our friends.
How many people will die in the UK because a Hard Brexit will deny them the drugs they need?
None. This is the most stupid and irresponsible of all the “Project Fear” stories, If need be we fly them from the rest of the world. Its not like drugs are difficult to transport, or that they vary in quality.
Every credible organisation offering a Brexit forecast says it will cost UK jobs. How are you going to replace them?
Credible, as in getting every forecast for the last 20 years wrong.
My understanding is that migrant labour will leave the UK, so maybe the problem is filling vacancies
While UK growth may be lower, when divided by population average wealth should be at worse neutral
Lower migrantion will reduce the housing shortage and reduce the load on services
Peter
I suspect Nigel would say stuff like this, but it is wholly inappropriate
1) We cannot leave the Notrhern Ireland border open – international law does not allow it. Nor can we do so and protect British business or people from harm – there is no safety regulation then in place. And you also ignore our international treaty obligations to Northern Ireland. This is reckless lawlessness than, and not sustainable
2) Impossible: that’;s not how a single trade deal in the role works
3) See how long it is before the US get angry with that. Special relationship? I think we may see what that really means. They like sanctions now.
4) I suspect there are none
5) The EU have no reason to negotiate – they cannot and will not engage unless a Nirther Ireland backstop is agreed. That’s all they will say and no UK negotiator will overcome that. And they are right. It is us who will be in breach of our international obligations.
6) See 5
7) So reckless irresponsibility is the order of the day – just for the sake of dogma and breaking the law
8) We have no friends on this – they will all want massive favours in return, like very open borders
9) No Colege of Medicine agrees with you – they all think there will be massive impcatiosn for drug exports – people do not ship them at will
10) That is no answer. But if you want one we can reduce housing demand by closing 30% of the NHS that is dependent on migrant labour – that should significantly reduce housing demand. I am sure people will be deleted to donate a few years of life to this madness
One last time
1) The UK can have an open border with Ireland, we can trust EU products.
How the UK controls goods once they are in the UK is a matter for the UK, not international treaty. I repeat, it will be the EU that is likely to break the NI deal, not an exiting UK.
2) You asked what Nigel would want. Not what we’d expect to end-up with.
3) Er what?
4) Your point
5) 6) As a net importer from the EU, with the option to substitute from the world market, I think they would. But hey, WTO in Europe and get on with RoW is OK, just not the best for either UK or EU.
7) Jump to extremes and use them for argument.
8) I know you are wrong on this. Even I have friends.
9) I’ve not heard one drug company state they would not supply the UK.
10) again jump to an extreme. Employment can be managed through permits and price. Why would a UK government repatriate valued staff? Why would staff leave simply because they have to go through a different passport control?
How about my asking questions about how the EU is going to be able to make decisions on climate change, eco-system breakdown, non-EU migration. Or about how every attempt to “Reform” the EU institutions has failed, Or how the EU is going to curb the political influence of International corporates, or how they are going to replace NATO with a EU army, or how they are going to deal with the intra-EU imbalances, or how they are going to deal with Italy’s deficits, And how the EU army is going to be politically controlled. Most of these are more “scary” than leaving the EU.
Peter
Sorry, but I a. Nit jumping to extremes
I want legal compliance
I think we have responsibilities
I am certain the US and EU will not do deals
India et al with on condition of open doors
And we will suffer economic turmoil because others will honour the law
And rightly so
In the meantime watch businesses collapse as their cash flow fails…..
Mr Dawe,
“The UK can have an open border with Ireland, we can trust EU products.
How the UK controls goods once they are in the UK is a matter for the UK, not international treaty. I repeat, it will be the EU that is likely to break the NI deal, not an exiting UK.“
It is not the responsibility of the EU to ensure that the UK can avoid its international obligations, entered into freely and unilaterally by the UK as its sovereign responsibility; simply in order to leave the EU at no cost or inconvenience. Of course the UK can do it; but the whole world will observe closely the cynicism it will require; not least the US, that laboured hard in support of the Good Friday Agreement. I doubt if the US will treat of the matter as being solely for the UK’s convenience; or as lightly as you appear to do. The UK can keep the border through the backstop and leave the EU, or it can stay in the EU: or (improbably) it can find a third solution that nobody has thought of in three years. The idea that it can simply tear up the backstop commitment in the Withdrawal Agreement, while ‘passing the buck’ to a third party is unsustainable; this is the kind of ‘tough talk’ that emanates from sources that do not have the responsibility for the negotiations, or the burden of executing the extravagant opinions they puff and promote. This may be difficult and unpalatable to acknowledge, but this whole matter is, after all entirely the product of the UK’s own dysfunctional history; nobody else.
At the same time, the idea that major world growth economies, like India are going to sign trade agreements quickly with the UK, having observed what you propose; if such a policy blunder came to fruition, is far-fetched. After all, it is not a wholesome hallmark of fair dealing. India will wish far more rigorous commitment to undertakings negotiated and given than the kind of squirming off the hook that you propose over Ireland/NI: to say nothing of the fact that the price of a trade deal with India will entail acceptance of immigration of people; not just goods, money and services. India has already made that abundantly clear; that is, when India reaches the UK at the end of the long trade-deal queue waiting to negotiate with modern India: long after the EU has concluded a trade deal with India, and for the UK, a deal that inevitably will be on worse terms.
“We can trust the EU products”. We can. It is one of the great safeguards British consumers currently enjoy and take for granted. Post-Brexit, they will no longer be protected: over time standards in the UK will separate from the EU, almost certainly deteriorating (given political pressures, not least from the US). Our products will find it more difficult to sell to the EU, while UK consumers can look forward to lower standards on imports from across the world.
These are just a few reminders of the price of Brexit; because somebody – not the Brexiteers, not ever the Brexiteers, who scuttle off stage when the ‘chips are down’ – will have to clean up the mess. Why is Theresa May mismanaging Brexit? Because after the Referendum Farage declared a victory and promptly disappeared; and Johnson and Gove were both centre stage and gone in the twinkling of a photo-opportunity the day after the Referendum, lest Brexit became their responsibility. The Brexit of the Conservative Party, of UKIP and the Brexit Party is a never-ever, somewhere-else land, a land where someone else must be responsible: a foggy no-man’s land, located somewhere between Utopia and Oceania, but much, much more fanciful than either.
He has an LBC show Monday to Thursday 6-7pm and on Sundays, could you or one of your commenters not call in and ask these questions?
I am always either traveling or working at these times so am unable to call myself.
I won’t be
Any particular reason?
Read what you just wrote
Farage is not presenting his shows on LBC whilst the EU election campaign is on as he is a candidate.
There is a discussion of MMT currently on BBC Radio Scotland’s mid-day ‘news’ programme – the John Beattie Show. The representative Beattie has chosen to represent MMT is Derek Henry. Beattie’s starting point is to seek an explanation of MMT, which is conventionally considered outlandish. Beattie’s initial claim is the only place MMT has been tried is Venezuela.
I despair….
China seems to be the best example of somebody using MMT effectively. They have apparently run a +/- 15% pa budget deficit for the last 20 years and average 7% pa growth with virtually no recessions and not much inflation.
I hear Farage from here, waffling his way through all your thoughtfully crafted questions…but aiming to answer your last one only.
It’s the only one he’d know the answer to, be fair to the man, he’s only a former mediocre stockbroker, and a failed MP (x7) , so…
Your last question is the most telling: “why is no-one asking you those questions.”
“Because they’re all numb, drunk on power and high wages, drunk on celebrity status and mediatic fun, sleepwalking all the way to my fascist dream”, Farage would answer, “I’m the pied-piper Bannon commandeered to take you to Brexitland, a place so great again, so white again, so male-dominated again, that even Masters Trump and Putin would spit out their gold teeth in awe! Because, you see, all of Europe will follow”.
Then the little man, the pied-piper, would vanish with his loot somewhere great again…but not here…not here.
You’re probably right….