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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To agree with Nigel Farage?

284 replies

nds241 · 11/12/2023 09:12

I expect to be completely flamed here!

But I find myself agreeing with him. I've been watching TV this morning and have seen him do a couple of interviews following his exit from the jungle.

I voted Remain back in 2016 and have always voted Labour. So in the past I've obviously had very different political views from him m, but everything he said this morning about a population crisis, there being no real leader of the opposition and the Conservative Party being in a complete shambles made sense. I think he does speak a lot of what maybe others would be afraid to say. I honestly feel confused as to why I find myself agreeing with him.

Tell me I'm being unreasonable!

OP posts:
Ladybughello · 11/12/2023 21:20

Sounds like you’ve lost the plot

cakewench · 11/12/2023 21:27

He's a populist and knows what the average person wants to hear. The trouble is, he never has any practical, attainable solution planned for whatever problems he's identified.

So let's say he hates immigration (I assume this is the case; I can't stand the man and can't listen to him anymore). And let's say you agree that immigration is a problem. What is his actual, viable solution? Because you'll still be taking in refugees because no one wants to watch people drowning off our shores, you'll still need nurses and people to do other jobs the native population isn't meeting the targets for (because of lack of funding or whatever; it's own problem, which he won't have a solution for). He's not going to have a thorough plan for addressing the problem, I assume he's just bleating on about how unsustainable it is and there's a housing crisis and no one can get a GP appointment. All things the average person will be nodding their head along with, probably.

He knows what to say. He also knows how to make money doing it. He doesn't make money fixing the issues, though. He makes money ranting about it.

lollipoprainbow · 11/12/2023 21:52

YANBU

Crikeyalmighty · 11/12/2023 22:43

@cakewench 100% - indeed that is GB news whole modus operandi designed to indoctrinate either not very bright people who feel threatened - or very bright people with a populist agenda designed to make them cash personally

Crikeyalmighty · 11/12/2023 22:48

@ArsetoChristmas - can we form the ' I'm in the middle club' ? I would say I'm centre left - but it seems to some of the rabid corbynistas I'm positively far right and to those fairly aligned to Goebbels on the right , I'm virtually communist!

Crikeyalmighty · 11/12/2023 22:52

@Passepartoute I think they will find most people centre left or even further to the left don't sit glued to this kind of shit. I'm sure some highly intelligent mumsnetters will be along to say they watch all this twaddle but in my experience many people just don't go for this kind of thing- young and old

LongDarkTeatime · 11/12/2023 22:54

Crikeyalmighty · 11/12/2023 22:48

@ArsetoChristmas - can we form the ' I'm in the middle club' ? I would say I'm centre left - but it seems to some of the rabid corbynistas I'm positively far right and to those fairly aligned to Goebbels on the right , I'm virtually communist!

Snap

Asiatoyork · 12/12/2023 00:04

And you only have to see the times that Civil Servants have briefed against their own MPs to know that they have their own agenda

Do you mean Ministers? Examples please.

Sausagenbacon · 12/12/2023 07:20

100% - indeed that is GB news whole modus operandi designed to indoctrinate either not very bright people who feel threatened -
Bingo

anotherside · 12/12/2023 10:08

@Crikeyalmighty
“rabid corbynistas”

Corbyn was a poor leader, but the vast majority of his ideas were (at least what used to be) bog standard left wing Labour. Of course people are free to disagree with his ideas, but without traditional Labour ideals we’d have never had stuff like the trade unions, minimum wage or before it the NHS. Those are ideas that come from the actual left - in recent years represented by leaders like John Smith, Corbyn, arguably Ed Miliband. The historical versions of the centre/centre left like Blair and Starmer would never have been radical enough to champion them.

Crikeyalmighty · 12/12/2023 10:30

@anotherside I don't disagree to some extent , however some of those who can't seem to get into their heads that Corbyn lost 2 elections appear to think that anyone who doesn't support Corbyn is a total Tory. I'm definitely not and I think some very good things did come in under Blair and Brown too - but many of them are too young to remember. The fact is you can't vote for your particular Labour flavour as it stands - so you either go with something that's certainly not Tory or you let the Tory's back in through the back door and remain a protest party - I didn't take issue with labours policies in 2019- I felt right policies in the main- wrong person getting them over to appeal to the masses .

Crikeyalmighty · 12/12/2023 11:11

@Sausagenbacon you appear to have missed off the part of my post where I also said some very bright people but with a populist agenda. If you don't think there are plenty of poorly educated people believing 100% what GB news tells them then you need to watch a few more vox pops, question Times etc.i find very very few people in the middle socio economically watch GB news- and yes I do understand why some people want to think that it is 'bang on' and has all the answers- there are a lot of angry people out there-but in my opinion are wanting to listen to people feeding back their own thoughts to them when in many cases they offer zero solutions either- other than banging on about immigration. I would also say the same by the way about people on the far left slavishly thinking just putting more money into this and that would solve certain things. These are complex issues involving people and mindsets and are not solved by straight ideology.

Letsbe · 12/12/2023 16:09

I agree completely. We certainly don't want immigrants caring for the elderly helping in the health service , keeping our restaurants and hotels going or picking the food in our fields

If they did we might all be living a better life.

lljkk · 13/12/2023 06:39

In the UK the birth rate is falling, as fewer babies are being born here, but the overall population is increasing due to immigration.

And people living longer. A big ?The main? driver is people failing to die as young as they used to.

lollipoprainbow · 13/12/2023 09:34

Letsbe · 12/12/2023 16:09

I agree completely. We certainly don't want immigrants caring for the elderly helping in the health service , keeping our restaurants and hotels going or picking the food in our fields

If they did we might all be living a better life.

No we don't

Tulipsroses · 13/12/2023 09:47

I hate Nigel Farage for his stance on many issues but the Coutts Bank fiasco really showed why you need people like him.

Asiatoyork · 13/12/2023 10:39

I hate Nigel Farage for his stance on many issues but the Coutts Bank fiasco really showed why you need people like him

Apart the regulator concluded it was all above board I thought?

NoCloudsAllowed · 13/12/2023 11:44

lollipoprainbow · 13/12/2023 09:34

No we don't

Show quote history

You want the elderly to go without care, hospitality to be shit, food to rot in fields? There are not enough British people willing to do these jobs.

greengreengrass25 · 13/12/2023 12:02

I agree about the carers but not so much about hospitality

We need to be improving things for the young people already here so they can work in these positions but still be able to have a family and affordable housing

This is what should have been happening in the first place not this continuous flow of people from abroad for about 30 years'

KimberleyClark · 13/12/2023 12:08

I found myself agreeing with Michael Gove once. Really disturbing experience. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.

BIossomtoes · 13/12/2023 13:28

Why? Because an immigrant is good enough to wipe your arse but not to serve your meal? The asylum seeker who committed suicide yesterday was a doctor, we have a huge shortage of those but the best thing we could think of to do with him was to incarcerate him. This country is insane.

greengreengrass25 · 13/12/2023 15:20

Yes it's awful

I meant the carers are playing a more essential role than in hospitality.

2dogsandabudgie · 13/12/2023 15:55

No clouds allowed - That's part of the problem though, it depends on what the 'British people who don't want to do these jobs' are doing. If they are on benefits because they get more that way than earning the minimum wage then that is wrong and the welfare system needs a complete overhaul. It is ridiculous to have immigrants coming in to do those jobs when there are enough people here already who could do them. We don't have enough houses for a start, and it's not as easy as saying just build more, the money has to be found somewhere, plus it has a knock on effect on schools, the NHS etc.

Clavinova · 13/12/2023 20:08

BIossomtoes
The asylum seeker who committed suicide yesterday was a doctor

No, he wasn't - wrongly named;
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/man-died-bibby-stockholm-named-103317400.html

Clavinova · 13/12/2023 20:19

Asiatoyork
the regulator concluded it was all above board I thought?

FCA investigation appears to be ongoing - the previous report was commissioned by NatWest -

https://www.amlintelligence.com/2023/10/news-britains-fca-set-to-go-into-natwest-to-interview-staff-in-formal-review-of-group-over-farage-de-banking-controversy/

Looks like Farage is taking legal action as well -

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/nov/11/nigel-farage-to-take-legal-action-against-natwest-over-closure-of-bank-accounts