Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has been in Blackpool on the campaign trail. Here he talks to Blackpool Gazette reporter Richard Hunt on his hopes for the General Election
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00:00Hello, I'm with Nigel Farage here, the leader of the UK Reform Party, and he's in Blackpool
00:08at the Imperial Hotel. The general message is, what would the message be to the people
00:14of Blackpool?
00:15Join the revolt. Join the revolt. Britain is broken. Nothing works anymore. The NHS,
00:20all the things that we grew up with and understood to be really good, solid institutions, nothing
00:25works. Our politics is broken too. There's almost no difference now between Labour and
00:30Conservatives. There really genuinely isn't. We believe Britain needs reform. We believe
00:34it needs radical solutions. You know, when the patient's really ill, the patient needs
00:39surgery. Our country needs surgery. Now look, I'll be honest with you, as we all know, Labour
00:45have won this election already. The Conservatives are doomed because they failed to deliver
00:49on their promises of 2019. The question now, the only question now that's open, is who
00:54will be the voice of opposition?
00:56In terms of Blackpool, obviously Blackpool is a town with a great many social problems,
01:03deprivation, poverty. What can reform do to a place like Blackpool?
01:07One big thing. Our main manifesto pledge on domestic policy, apart from freezing immigration,
01:13which is a more, you know, border thing, is to raise the level at which people start paying
01:18tax to £20,000 a year. Right, why? Number one, the lowest earners keep more of their
01:23But the key thing, those on benefits, if they go to do a job and work more than 16 hours
01:29a week, start to lose their benefits. They're better off staying on benefits than going
01:33back to work. That is crackers. If we bring that £20,000 in, we'll say, you know what,
01:39if I go to work, I'm off. And that won't just help them economically, it'll help them psychologically
01:44as well, in terms of their feelings of value to society. That's the biggest thing we can
01:49Second thing we want to do is help small business. Everything that Labour and Conservatives talk
01:54about is all about the giant multinationals. What about local businesses, family businesses,
02:00self-employed people? They have been given a terrible time. Corporation tax on their
02:04companies, up 30% last year. IR35 rules, making it so hard for self-employed people to work
02:11for big contractors.
02:13In terms of a place like Blackpool, with the problems it has, some people would say that
02:19it would be more Labour-friendly. What would make people in Blackpool, with the issues
02:26they face, find the Reform Party attractive to what they need specifically?
02:31Well, Blackpool is now your classic Red Wall seat, as it's called. But it had been Labour,
02:35it went Conservative. But huge numbers here voted for me when I led UKIP. Huge numbers
02:40here voted for me when I led the Brexit Party. Huge numbers here voted for Brexit. And the
02:45modern day Labour Party doesn't represent those kind of values. Keir Starmer, of course,
02:51campaigned for a second referendum, doesn't really believe in it. There's always been
02:56that Labour vote, particularly in places like Lancashire, Yorkshire too, across the Pennines
03:03if I dare mention that, which they're very patriotic. And Labour is now a sort of metropolitan
03:09party run from North London. We want to fulfil Brexit. And the biggest thing was immigration.
03:15And I've met people, and I've been to Blackpool many, many, many times over the years. I've
03:20seen homeless veterans on the streets of Blackpool, whilst all over the North West, hotels are
03:25being filled up with young men that have crossed the English Channel. People see that as being
03:29wrong. They see it as being unfair. And I'm the only person, frankly, with the balls that
03:34will deal with it.
03:35Can it be dealt with? It's easy to talk about that when you're in opposition. But when you're
03:39actually in power and you have to deal with these things practically, is that something
03:43do you think you'll be able to sort out?
03:44My mate Tony Abbott was the Prime Minister of Australia, right? They faced boats coming
03:48across from Indonesia. Do you know what he did? He towed them back. The boats stopped
03:52coming. If you've got the guts, you can do it.
03:55And in terms of the two seats in Blackpool, Blackpool North and Blackpool South, Blackpool
03:59North and Fleetwood, and the Blackpool South seat, do you think they can be winnable for
04:03reform this time?
04:04Well, there was a by-election that took place, of course, in Blackpool South not long ago.
04:09The reform candidate got about 18% of the vote. Our national vote share is now double
04:14what it was at the time of the Blackpool South by-election. We are seriously competing
04:20in Blackpool. It'll be us against Labour. And I would say to people who are thinking
04:24of voting Conservative, if you vote Conservative, you are wasting your vote. If you vote Conservative,
04:29you will let Labour in. If those Conservative voters recognise that we're now the voice
04:33of real opposition, it's going to be really tight in both seats for Labour. Really, really
04:38tight.
04:39Thanks, Nigel. Appreciate the time.