Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has told Nigel Farage to take his 'nasty hate, anger and division' elsewhere after the Reform UK leader published an essay claiming Britain operates a two-tier state against white people.
Nandy's Strong Rebuke
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Nandy, who is the MP for Wigan and an ally of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, said: 'We've had a lot of this in my town, because we've got the by-election next door, over the last few weeks. I think he should take his nasty hate and anger and division somewhere else. Frankly, I've had enough of it, and I think a lot of us round our way have as well.'
She expressed hope that Andy Burnham would win the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, stating that he is giving voice to the serious challenges the country faces. 'There are serious challenges that this country faces. People have not felt listened to or heard. Living standards haven't improved for too long. People want better, they want more… And Andy Burnham is giving voice to that very strongly in the by-election,' she said.
Farage's Controversial Essay
In a 5,000-word essay launching his monthly Substack newsletter, Mr Farage criticised what he called an 'insidious' two-tier system in the British government, claiming 'deeply anti-White racism is embedded into the heart of the state'. He targeted diversity, equity and inclusion schemes, describing them as a 'toxic ideology'.
The Reform UK leader also proposed that foreign nationals living in social housing would face deportation after three months to find private accommodation if his party were elected. Homelessness charities condemned the policy as 'racist and morally wrong'.
Braverman's Support
Reform's spokeswoman for education, skills and equality, Suella Braverman, echoed Farage's sentiments, telling Sky News: 'I believe that white people are treated more unfairly than non-white people, and we see that in the Equality Act. The Equality Act actually legislates to allow preferential treatment to non-white people. It allows advertising, recruitment, training, promotion, opportunities to prefer non-white people.'
Ms Braverman insisted that Reform's plans to scrap the Act would not remove workplace safeguards for women, pregnant women, disabled people, or ethnic minorities.
Labour's Response
Labour chair Anna Turley criticised the plans, saying: 'Farage's Reform are not on the side of women. Their plot to strip away hard won rights for women with no plan for how they'd be replaced speaks volumes. That's maternity rights and workplace protections up in smoke if Reform ever got into power.'
She added: 'The fact Farage has stood by his self-described sexist candidate in Makerfield who has made vile comments about women just underlines how low he's willing to go. Labour is the only party that can be trusted to stand up for women.'
Burnham's Warning
Andy Burnham, who has made no secret of his Labour leadership ambitions, warned that voting Reform could lead to a Britain as bitterly divided as the United States. In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, he said: 'The country is on quite a worrying path. Things are getting harder, and politics is getting more polarised, and the path we're on, if we are not careful, is towards the politics of the United States, a polarised, poisonous politics where people in communities don't work together any more.'
