The Reform leader wants to rip up anti-discrimination laws so employers can discriminate against workers on the basis of their nationality
Anti-racism campaigners and unions have voiced horror at Nigel Farage’s comments saying that employers should be able to discriminate against non-British applicants.
As reported in the Mirror, the Reform leader has doubled down on remarks he made a decade ago, when he advocated for ripping up anti-discrimination laws and said employers should be able to discriminate in favour of British workers.
In 2015, when he was leader of UKIP, Farage sparked outrage after telling a Channel 4 documentary that it was “ludicrous” that bosses were not able to choose staff on the basis of their nationality.
This week, he said he does not “in any way row back from the comments I made then”.
He added: “I do think we should actually put British workers first. I genuinely do.”
Dr Shabna Begum, chief executive of anti-racism organisation the Runnymede Trust, told The Mirror: “This is a dangerous line to pursue, particularly as ‘Britishness’ is becoming an increasingly contested status.
“There is a worrying trend of people who believe that you must be ‘born British’ to be truly British.”
Dr Begum added: “A person’s right to work should never be determined by the colour of their skin or their nationality, if they have the right to work, that is absolute.”
Green peer Natalie Bennett told The Mirror: “Nigel Farage has shown again his true colours – and they haven’t changed over ten years. He has made no attempt to row back from comments he made ten years ago in which he suggested that employers should be able to discriminate in favour of employing those who are British born. Instead, he appears to have doubled down.
“It is clear that whatever party Nigel Farage is in, he will always wave the flag for prejudice and discrimination.”
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Nigel Farage is no friend of working people. He’s consistently voted against every measure to improve fairness and rights at work.
“Now he wants to rip up protections from discrimination, which will do nothing to grow the economy or help the country.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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