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CClaims that Nigel Farage was a racist bully in his schooldays appear to have left most voters unmoved, According to a public opinion poll independent. The JL Partners survey found that while some respondents said the accusations had changed their view of the reform leader from positive to negative, many had changed their views in the opposite direction.
The end result is that Mr Farage’s standing with voters remains largely unchanged. There are more negative comments than positive comments about him, but he Not as unpopular as Sir Keir Starmer and about the same rating as Kemi BadenockLeader of the Official Opposition.
James Johnson of JL Partners said Mr Farage had benefited from recognition. As with the accusations of personal misconduct against Donald Trump, Farage’s supporters have dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.
This is unfortunate because the allegations against Mr Farage are serious. Over 20 former Dulwich College students He also claimed he expressed racist, anti-Semitic and fascist views.
Chloe Deakin, a former teacher at the school who opposed 17-year-old Farage becoming a prefect in 1981, spoke out this week in support of her actions. She rejected his claims that his aggressive expressions were just “jokes” and that he never “directly” abused classmates. “Of course Farage directly abused students,” she said. “He was clearly called a bully.”
Mr Farage’s supporters have tried to dismiss his actions as actually the follies of a young man he has long since left behind. This may be true, but it needs to be proven rather than simply asserted. After all, Mr Farage is an adult, 18, in his final months at school.
Michael Crick is the author of several biographies of politicians, including one of Mr Farage in which the allegations about his behavior at Dulwich College were first reported, Recently written in independent: “I don’t believe Farage was an anti-Semite as an adult, and he has always been a staunch supporter of Israel. Nor do I believe he is a racist now, although he sometimes seems to pander to those who are.”
indeed Mr Farage distances himself from Tommy RobinsonMr Farage rightly rejects the holders of extreme views, even at the expense of Reform’s relationship with Elon Musk. Yet Mr Farage often approaches or even crosses the line. For example, his remarks about not hearing English on London suburban trains, not wanting to live next to Romanians and refusing HIV treatment to foreigners were all made as an active adult politician.
His comments about HIV went too far even for Douglas Carswell, one of only two MPs from Mr Farage’s former party, UK Independence Party. Carswell called them “unwise” and left UKIP two years later – one of many with whom Farage fell out during his long career.
That’s another reason to scrutinize Mr Farage’s character closely. As the subtitle of Mr. Crick’s biography indicates, party after partysuggesting that Mr Farage has so far failed to demonstrate the kind of sustained team effort that might be capable of governing a country.
He and his supporters should welcome attention to Mr Farage’s personal history. Precisely because he is a credible candidate to be prime minister – or at least to play a role in a post-Labour government – ongoing questions about his beliefs and temperament are justified.
Instead of using the press conference to launch a diatribe against his so-called enemies among journalists, he should use the press conference to explain how and why he transformed from the obnoxious young man in school into a human being.