At this rate, the paper may as well rebrand itself as Farage News, the Daily Farage, or perhaps more honestly, the Farage Mail, given the unwavering devotion it shows to the Reform UK leader.
The Daily Mail’s front page on December 1 delivered one of those genuine double-take moments.
“Farage: Reeves must face sleaze probe over budget lies,” the headline declared.
At this rate, the paper may as well rebrand itself as Farage News, the Daily Farage, or perhaps more honestly, the Farage Mail, given the unwavering devotion it shows to the Reform UK leader.
The story relayed that Chancellor Rachel Reeves now “faces” the prospect of a sleaze investigation for the “second time in a month.” The supposed scandal is that Reeves was reported to the ethics watchdog, by Nigel Farage himself no less, over what he calls “false claims” about a £20 billion hole in the public finances.
Farage had reportedly written a 968-word complaint to Starmer’s independent ethics adviser, Sir Magnus Laurie, alleging that Reeves pushed “a sustained and deliberate narrative” about a projected fiscal shortfall of £22-40 billion. He argued that she failed to disclose the Office for Budget Responsibility’s more positive headroom forecast to either Parliament or the public.
Not content with accusing the Chancellor of misleading the country, Farage also took the opportunity to allege she made “inaccurate statements” about her professional background, before turning to swipe at the Prime Minister for supposedly knowing about the Treasury’s Pre-Budget briefing strategy.
Other right-wing papers were at it too. “Farage reports Chancellor to officials for misleading public to justify her tax rises,” read the Daily Telegraph’s front page.
Fast-forward several days, and an official at the OBR confirmed Reeves had not been misleading in warning of fiscal challenges ahead of the Budget. David Miles, a member of the OBR’s steering committee, told the Treasury committee that Reeves had not been wrong to say in early November that the public finances were under strain and that the margin against her borrowing rules was “wafer thin.”
Was there any acknowledgment from the right-wing press that amounted to “Reeves didn’t lie?” Of course not. By then, they’d moved onto Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his lost £500k payout.
You wonder if Farage’s sudden zeal for accountability may have been sharpened by Reeves’ timely jab at him during her Budget speech. Announcing increased sanctions on Russia, she said: “We are freezing known Russian assets.”
Then came the sting: “But let me be clear, I don’t actually mean the right honourable member for Clacton!”
Reeves was, of course, referring to the recent sentencing of Farage’s former associate, and ex-Reform Wales leader, Nathan Gill, who admitted to accepting bribes to make pro-Russian statements. That alone should have prompted a flurry of press scrutiny.
But there is more. Reports also surfaced involving David Coburn, former UKIP leader in Scotland and another Farage ally, who has been linked to taking money to promote Russian interests, allegations he denies.
Yet despite these developments, the right-wing press remains conspicuously silent. Or perhaps we should simply call it what it increasingly resembles – the Farage press.
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