Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden has said she was left “shocked and bloody angry” after a physical altercation with Nigel Farage in the Commons, and accused the Reform UK leader of failing to write a “required” apology.
Mr Farage faces accusations that he “physically shoved” the Lib Dem MP, though he has denied acting aggressively. The dispute follows Mr Farage's claim that he skipped John Healey's Budget to avoid a possible “physical altercation” in the Commons, citing an incident earlier in the year.
Voaden's Response on X
Ms Voaden, the MP for South Devon, said on X: “Shocked and bloody angry I think… it takes more than that to shake me. I may be a woman, but I’m not the snowflake here.”
In an earlier post, she wrote: “I’m still waiting for the apology you were required to write to me… Though I won’t hold my breath.”
Lib Dem Deputy Leader's Account
On Thursday, Lib Dem Deputy leader Daisy Cooper was asked by Sky News whether there was an incident at the state opening. She said: “My understanding – I didn’t see it, I wasn’t there – but my understanding is that he physically shoved one of our female MPs out of the way, and that one of our male MPs then challenged him on that. I didn’t see it, I didn’t witness what happened, but that was several months ago.
“Let’s be really clear: it’s Reform UK that had a problem at their conference with bundling female journalists and members out of their hall. So, we’ll take no lessons from them on this.”
Prayer Card Dispute
The Reform UK leader had said his parliamentary prayer card, which MPs use to reserve a seat in the chamber, had been removed, a claim ridiculed by opposition MPs. A House of Commons spokesperson later said Mr Farage’s prayer card was removed because it did not have a valid time stamp.
The Lib Dem deputy leader had earlier told Sky: “Nigel Farage had every opportunity to get his prayer card in yesterday and get a space in Parliament, but as a leader of a very small party, he would have to have waited several hours to have the opportunity to speak.
“So, let’s be really clear about the choice that Nigel Farage made yesterday. He basically decided that he couldn’t be arsed to sit in the chamber and listen to the Chancellor’s speech and everybody else responding, and instead chose to go and do a press conference so he could get on to the airwaves. That’s the choice that he has made, and he should just come clean about that.”
Reform officials said Ms Cooper’s account was not true and insisted it was the Lib Dem MP who was acting aggressively.
