Nigel Farage sits down with the Torbay Weekly

Reform UK has been making its mark on the south Devon electorate this week as Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK held a 1,500-person-strong rally at Trago Mills. 

The veteran right-wing politician has been waiting in the wings of politics for some time since Brexit, but surprised everyone with his return earlier this month, resuming the leadership of Reform UK and standing for the party in Clacton.

Mr Farage has stood for the UK Parliament seven times without success and is now making an eighth attempt.

Speaking to the Torbay Weekly, Farage spoke about why he’s in Devon and why he thinks he can win big in the region.

“We’ve done incredibly well throughout the years in Devon,” he said.

“With UKIP, we did incredibly well. We had a huge number of votes in some of these seats back in 2015. The Brexit Party 2019, we topped the polls in almost every single constituency.

“These Devon seats are extraordinary. You can take your MRP polls and set fire to them; they're no use because they're projecting national vote share onto the southwest. The circumstances here are different for all sorts of reasons.”

Mr Farage also commented on Torbay and the issue of economic decline.

“There’s a lot of reasons Torbay is struggling, but there are also a lot of reasons to feel optimistic.  

“I think the destruction of the fishing industries has taken away an awful lot of local jobs. Everyone knows the old argument; one man at sea is eight men and women on shore. 

Brixham’s industry is still there but not anything like it was. The Torquay fishing fleet is almost non-existent. It’s just ridiculous. 

“It's a big disappointment that the Brexit deal has not done more. The negotiations on fisheries were a complete sellout, a total disaster.”

On the decline of the tourism industry, Farage saw the competition from abroad as only one part of the puzzle. 

He continued: “I think perhaps the English seaside has lacked imagination. It's not quite moving with the times in terms of what people want. Maybe Torbay's suffering a bit from that. 

“Maybe, too much of it is offering 1950s holidays to families that are a bit more sophisticated and want something different. I look at seaside towns in Kent, like Ramsgate and Deal, and they're now mega trendy.”

He added: “I wouldn't be too pessimistic about Torbay’s future, because other places are changing quite quickly. I think after the pandemic, the seaside became more fashionable again. I would say places like Torbay have got better days to look forward to.”

Like many of the election candidates, a key issue Farage identified for the Bay was crime and anti-social behaviour. He, however, argued for something other candidates are not: the expansion of stop and search.

“If you can go and nick up to 200 quid for the stuff without getting prosecuted, then we are accepting rising crime,” he said. 

“The police are afraid to stop and search, in case they're accused of some racial motivation. I would advocate for a completely different approach to policing. There needs to be a much tougher attitude by the police towards delinquent youngsters. It may sound old-fashioned, but I'm sure it works.”

Another key issue identified by many voters in Torbay has been sewage and water quality. Farage did accept there was a problem but stopped short of giving a clear solution. 

“I think the situation we’ve got into is a disgrace,” he said, “I’m a firm believer in capitalism, but when it comes to the water industry, there’s no competition.”

Following the interview, Farage took to the stage, where he attempted to sell his wider vision for this election and beyond. 

He began by addressing the heavy criticism he has received for not supporting the war in Ukraine. Former PM Boris Johnson called Farage ‘morally repugnant’ for saying in multiple media interviews that the West gave Putin a reason to invade Ukraine.

He said: “Ten years ago, I said don't poke the Russian bear with a stick because if you do you'll get a very predictable result. Now it turns out I was the only person in British public life saying this and they hated me at the time for daring to do so. Of course, now they hate me even more because I've been proved right.”

Farage was also critical of the state of the UK military, calling for expenditure to rise to 3% of GDP: “Go to Plymouth. See what's left of the Royal Navy. It's absolutely pitiful. Look at the number of fighter jets we have. Look at the British army now denuded down from 100,000 people when Cameron came to power to 72,000 men and women today in the face of the most dangerous world we've ever seen.”

Farage of course addressed the issue of immigration, to which he doubled down on calling the small-boats crisis an ‘invasion’. 

“A country that voted to take back control of our borders has clearly not got leaders with the courage to defend them.,” he said.

“A population that has risen by six million since David Cameron came to power has made us poorer and has damaged and devalued our quality of life. There is no prospect of the incoming Labour government, which I guess is what it's going to be, lifting a finger to change this.”

Farage also lashed out at the Tories, calling them hypocrites and liars. 

“They have destroyed their own chances even without any help from us,” he said, responding to the allegation that he would split the conservative vote. 

He added: “I can see a movement building in this country. As leader of Reform, I believe we can build on this movement around the country over the next five years with the ambition and the intention of winning the 2029 general election.”

The candidates standing for Torbay are Steve Darling (Lib Dem), Kevin Foster (Con), Paul Moor (Workers Party), Charlie West (Green), Gordon Scott (Reform) and Chris Wongsosaputro (Lab).