In MetroTalk, readers are questioning why Nigel Farage is receiving so much attention in the lead-up to the General Election.
As one commenter notes, Farage has repeatedly failed to secure a parliamentary seat — seven times, in fact. If he manages to win in Clacton, this will mark his eighth attempt to be a ‘bloody nuisance’ in Westminster.
Additionally, what about the potential implications of a Reform-Tory coalition if both parties were to secure their seats. What do you think about this possible political alliance?
Share your thoughts on these topics and more in the comments.
Why is there so much attention on Nigel Farage?
Why does the media give so much coverage to Nigel Farage, a man who has failed seven times to win a parliamentary seat and may only win at the eighth attempt by choosing the safest seat for a Reform candidate?
His argument for ‘net zero’ on immigration simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny in the context of the next five-year parliament, given the timescale involved in training more homegrown doctors and nurses.
If he becomes an MP, he will continue to divide the whole country (note his latest dog-whistle comments about Rishi Sunak not caring about ‘our culture’) starting with Clacton and using his soapbox in parliament and aping his bestie, Donald Trump. Andy Jinman, Worthing
No solution from Labour – but Tories and Reform are part of the problem
All of your correspondents have to remember that a vote for Reform is really a vote for the Tories. There were strong rumours that Nigel Farage was going to rejoin the Tories and he had publicly received welcoming comments from many Tory MPs, such as Suella Braverman.
When voting, British people have to consider whether Britain is part of the problem or part of the solution to the humanitarian crisis the world is facing.
It’s still to be seen whether Labour has the solution but it’s pretty clear that the Tories and Reform are part of the problem and just want to wash their hands of it. Gary O’Neill, Wirral
Can you imagine Farage as deputy prime minister?
If Reform increase their popularity even more and then win seats we could be faced with the terrifying prospect of a Tory-Reform coalition with Farage as deputy prime minister.
This will lead to benefits being slashed, leading to more evictions and people living on the streets, all to please callous voters who are doing all right. On the topic of sleeping rough, how about making evictions illegal? Alan Meadowcroft, Oldham
ABC: Austerity, Brexit and Covid
E Kirkaldy (MetroTalk, Fri) is either a stand-up comedian or lives in cloud cuckoo land.
Farage ‘should be thanked for bringing back control to our country’? What control? Not borders, is it?
And who is ‘witnessing higher wages being paid’? Why are there strikes and workforce shortages everywhere?
If it’s not just Brexit alone that ruined our country, it’s ABC: austerity, Brexit and Covid.
Driving back into the UK from clean, green Europe is like entering some so-called ‘third world’ country.
Dirt, neglect, overcrowding, rubbish and dead animals strewn along the roads. It’s suffocating. Shopping is another downer. From great fresh fruit and veg (Europe grows most of its own produce) not wrapped in plastic to our poor choice of plastic-clad, tired-looking, tasteless things with no aroma.
Brexit may appear as the democratic choice of the UK but voter manipulation by Cambridge Analytica is a fact. Voting was also very likely influenced by powers aiming to destabilise the West.
Their hybrid war (cyber attacks, madly increased migration and resulting far-right gains, inciting conflicts) is working quite well because of the blindness of many who fall for slogans and propaganda.
We need to be less gullible, so the country doesn’t become the unsuspecting victim of the career politicians and murky global politics. Being part of any organisation entails compromises but also provides a safety net vital in today’s changed world.
In the current political global climate it would’ve been wiser and more secure to be with the EU rather than its marginalised, megalomaniac outsider.JW, London
Anyone who still thinks that Brexit has been a resounding success should ask themselves why the Conservative government has not mentioned it once in the election campaign.
Also take a look at all those political commentators who berated the EU for being undemocratic and are now applauding the far-right gains in the EU elections, such as those by France’s Marine Le Pen. Ironic, isn’t it? Robert Boston, Kent
We need immigration but not any kind
Ryan Cooper (MetroTalk, Fri) is spot on in one thing – we definitely do need more immigration due to a falling birth rate.
However, he doesn’t state ‘who’ we should be allowing in, simply hiding behind ‘youthful’ immigration.
Whilst working in Marble Arch as a security officer in 2016, I saw this immigration – urinating and defecating everywhere and causing antisocial behaviour (one of my officers was robbed at an ATM by one of them).
So, immigration is needed – but we don’t just take anyone.
We need a nurse? Get a nurse. Need an architect? Get an architect.
What we shouldn’t be doing is just letting in anyone and everyone because they are ‘young’. They need to be skilled and have the qualifications to fill the positions we need.
Gigs are not Taylor-made for fans, and penguins getting Down Down
Further to your review of the Taylor Swift concert in Edinburgh (Metro, Mon).
While I like Taylor, there are other musical artists I would rank higher – but I do understand the devotion her fans have for her.
What I don’t get is that, due to the sheer scale of her concerts, 80-90 per cent of the audience don’t get to see Taylor because they are so far away, despite paying a high price for tickets.
All they get to see is a big screen, which to me seems more like going to the cinema but with a worse view.
The biggest gig I have been to was nine times smaller than Taylor’s concert and, even then, if I hadn’t splashed out and got VIP tickets putting me in a good position, I would have felt cheated by not really getting to see the artist.
I have nothing against Taylor or her fans but personally if I pay a lot to go and see an artist I love (this usually involves hotels and travel, which pushes the price up) I want to actually see the artist, not a screen about half a mile away. Dan, Sussex
Apparently, penguins at Edinburgh Zoo wore friendship bracelets around their flippers in honour of Taylor Swift.
Who made the assumption that all the penguins were Swifty fans? I heard a rumour they actually preferred Status Quo and have spotted them head banging to their songs. AH, Leeds
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