31 October 2025
Last weekend, the Reform Party set up stall in Barnsley town centre, giving local people an opportunity to ask them some important questions. I welcome this opportunity.
Sadly, I couldn’t make it (I bet they were gutted!). But here’s what I’d have asked.
First: who started the war in Ukraine? Most people know the answer: Putin. He illegally invaded Ukraine. Simple.
Yet that’s not the answer that Nigel Farage gives. He always feels the need to echo Putin’s vile justification for the war by claiming that the West ‘provoked’ the invasion. That’s like saying owning a car provokes car thieves. It’s dangerous nonsense – and it shows Farage can’t be trusted to keep us safe.
Then I’d ask about Nathan Gill, Reform’s ex-leader in Wales, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery after taking money from a Putin ally to push pro-Russia propaganda. Farage says he didn’t know – but he was photographed with the wife of the man bribing Gill on the same day Gill made one of his pro-Russia speeches. He also claimed he was the only senior Reform figure to meet Gill – but video and photographic evidence prove otherwise.
Reform have serious questions to answer about what they knew and when.
They also have questions to answer about their ‘record’ in local government. They promised quick fixes and council tax cuts. It sounded good – but it was drivel. Already, eight Reform-run councils have indicated that they’ll increase council tax next year. So, were they clueless, or did they knowingly make promises they couldn’t keep?
Next: how is it acceptable for Farage to work 12 – yes 12 – extra jobs while supposedly representing Clacton? Since becoming an MP, he’s raked in about £1.2 million from jobs on the side. Can you imagine what would be said about me on We Are Barnsley if I had been paid by an organisation that helps people pay less tax in this country? Or if I diverted my income to a private company to personally pay less tax on my earnings? What would people in New Lodge WMC or Barnsley Market say about that?! I think we all know what they’d say.
Speaking of Clacton, who paid for his Clacton home? First, he said it was him, then he said it wasn’t. Most people tend to remember if they paid for a house or not – especially if there are tax implications for second homes.
I’d also have asked some quickfire questions:
Was Farage right to say we should move to an insurance-based healthcare system instead of supporting our NHS?
Was he right to say children are being over-diagnosed with SEND issues?
Is Richard Tice, Reform’s Deputy Leader, right to say that we should accelerate fracking – even though the last time it was tried in the UK, it caused earthquakes?
Was it racist when Reform’s Sarah Pochin said the sight of black and Asian people on TV made her mad?
Reform want to represent our town and our country. But if they can’t answer basic questions about corruption, propaganda, broken promises, and racism, then they don’t represent British values – they betray them.
Britain and Barnsley deserve much better.