Agree with everything said. Nigel can distance himself and the party from Tommy Robinson without it looking like an attack on the man. Rupert Lowe did this in a post of his own recently that was perfect. That would literally be enough to stop the infighting which we really could do without.
Being from across the pond,(actually I could see China from the coast if Japan weren't in the way)..Just kidding,my eyes aren't that good, my opinion seems to be Western when it comes to my opinion on Tommy. Years ago I read his book "Enemy of The State", and it infuriated me. Your Gov. are dangerous horses asses. They allegedly represent Millions of Citizens and kneel to thousands of less than stellar New Brits. To me Tommy may have legal issues, from what seems like(in many cases) trumped up charges, but he has been calling out Monsters. People like Piers Morgan, seems so incensed with Tommy,but seems to lose the plot when it comes to the main topic. To me, Tommy is like a poor Donald Trump. They both fight like hell against a government who hate them.Most people would be quivering under their beds after the first attack. And Tommy doesn't have anywhere near the resources Donald has. I know Nigel is playing the long political game here, but he must acknowledge that a huge percentage of his support are also Tommy's supporters. I wish them both good luck. Those nasty Labour bastards have their hands on the levers of power, for now, but I hope they are relegated to the garbage cans of history sooner than later,because there is really something smelly going on with their denial of the rape gang investigations.
Yes it takes a certain kind of courage to stand up to injustice knowing you will likely lose everything. These are the brave individuals that go down in history and ultimately change the world.
This is my opinion aswell. The man is not without faults , but he is fighting people who are monstrous human scum. Tyrants , child murderers and rapists .
In light of that , I don't really think It matters whether or not he might have done drugs , committed mortgage fraud or stood on some court steps .
The mortgage fraud one in particular, who cares if a mortgage company loses money ? Since when did anyone care about big business ? I'm not going to cry about it .
Whilst I appreciate the points being made here, at the same time, this is the 'old model' of doing politics. This is a backward looking view on how to win.
Public trust in corporate media has never been lower. We are over 4 years away from the next election. What Reform should arguably be doing now is grabbing that Overton Window and running as far as they can down field.
Look at the people who are actually winning, and then bringing real change — it's Trump, Milei, Bukele, etc.
They did not win by cosying up to the corrupt media and institutions, and "moderating" and "compromising", or distancing themselves from "disfavoured" people. They won by sticking 2 fingers up to those power bases, and inviting the public to help them kick the doors in and clean house.
Nigel and Reform are trying to win an election how you would do so 20 years ago. That time is over. We now live in an age of public rage and instant messaging. Trust in the media has never been lower. Kowtowing to them to appear "moderate" is a fool's errand — they will call you racist anyway, so you might as well stand for something.
Trump understands the media better than Nigel (that you must lead *them*, and never let them lead *you*).
And Trump has a superpower that Farage is yet to develop: Not giving a toss what 'fancy folks' think of him, or whether they are frothing at the mouth.
Trump won by widening the discourse, not by staying within the 'polite parameters'. He would lob verbal grenades that blew open the Overton Window, and sent the media into abject hysterics... which was a twofer: the public would think 'Hmm, you know he's got a point there'... and the media would reveal themselves to be both reactionary and very ridiculous.
Nigel still wants to be *liked*, and to win within the parameters of 'polite society'. He will have to shed this weakness if he wants to lead the nation out of the mess we are in.
We're in serious trouble, this is the last chance saloon. We cannot have men who fold when offered 'deals' into the private club (as he did with Brexit Party), or who will back off the point when the media screech insults at him (as he did with UKIP).
There is no time left for playing a gentleman's game, on his enemy's terms. This is the time for men with backbone, who've shed their own egos in order to do something much greater than being liked. LEAD.
Trump won twice (probably 3 times if we're being honest about 2020). His win this time was far bigger than the last time, despite being the most hated and pilloried man in corporate media history. He has not softened any his stances, in fact his rhetoric and policy positioning on immigration has hardened considerably since 2016, when he won the first time. And as he moved from 'deport criminals' to 'deport all illegals' he actually gained more minority votes.
There's a lesson in there, for anyone observant.
Playing the pander-bear does not work. Someone will always outbid your pandering.
Pick a position, based on a clear principle, and then hammer it. Do not compromise, do not 'soften'. Keep hammering your agenda, and ignore the media hysteria. It's not real. It's not the media who vote — it's the public. And the public want a strong leader who will go to the power centres, kick the doors in, and fight for them. They do not need more wishy washy, pandering, sway-in-the-wind leadership.
If Nigel wants to run Reform like Tories 2.0 (same incompetence, 10% more rhetorical gusto) then he will fail.
He will never again have an opportunity like this one. Reform are 4 years out from an election, facing a government who are angering the public and digging their own grave daily. The Tories have shown no sign of getting their sh*t together. Now is the time to grab that Overton Window and start running. Start throwing grenades into the media cycle, staking out the most *extreme version* of their position.
Take a lesson from Trump and Milei.
Politics is negotiation, and you can't win a negotiation by compromising in the first round (ie before election). You have to stake out a *more extreme* position than you intend to land on, knowing that once elected you will have to make some compromises to push that agenda thru (see: Trump, right now). British politicians, particularly on the right, still don't get this. They don't understand how to negotiate to win.
I agree completely which is why I prefer Lowe. That man says it how it is, does not pander to anyone. Farage needs to take a harder stance if he wants not only to win but to change this country. I love Matt Goodwin, he too is not afraid to say it how it is.
People in this country need to know what Reform stand for, what 'they' think, what their principles are and sod the lefty media. There aren't many out there that believe their crap anymore. The young are scared and need a future, if Farage can tell them what he will do to this country to change it in favour of them; they will vote and they'll vote for him. I have a son whose 26, he voted Reform at the GE but he is still sceptical about them. They need to come out harder and stronger. I think they'll be surprised at the support for them but they will have to have tough skins. The left will play very dirty, they always have!!
1. Tommy is not, and never has been, asking to join Reform.
2. It is totally unnecessary for Nigel to keep lying about him.
3. All he had to say is he doesn't support him, and doesn't think he'd be right for the party.
4. Millions of Reform voters, including Howard Cox who's JUST quit the party over exactly this, are at least tacitly supportive of what Tommy has done to expose the gangs, going all the way back to the 2000s.
5. Donald Trump Jr, and Elon Musk, have both made supportive comments towards Tommy.
6. Daddy Trump is about to enter the oval office again, and he's gonna kick butts.
Starmer - toast. Lammy - toast. Rayner - toast. Nigel... , well, we'll have to wait and see. But Daddy Trump is hardly gonna pick Nigel over his own son and his right hand man, Elon. Does Nigel want to play a very dangerous game of bluff, particularly when he has much more to lose than they do?
An error doesn't have to become a mistake unless we refuse to correct it. Perhaps there's just enough time for Nigel to get the genie back into the bottle... , maybe.
Please convey the following message to Nigel for me when you see him (I speak as a Reform party member): if you can't say anything nice about Tommy, please would you just say nothing at all. Is that really so much to ask?
Well said. History favours the brave and not someone who punches low when the individual is in solidarity confinement and certainly not when they lie about them with no right to reply.
Agree with you Alex but also agree with others in the comments that Nigel has shot himself in the foot on Tommy Robinson and has not walked the line here to draw in as many votes and that includes dormant voters. Rupert set the example on how to do it for the rest of Reform. Nigel seems overly keen to highlight Tommy’s criminal convictions in every interview- ok he can do that if wants but i don’t think it’s a great strategy because there is a whole lot more to say about how those convictions came about into existence and people are aware of this nuance but Nigel doesn’t afford that courtesy in listing them. The most egregious error Nigel has made of late is to lie on LBC and say Tommy has convictions for violence against women. If I was Nigel when asked on Tommy, I would state first that: ‘Tommy has never asked to join Reform. He has campaigned for many years on Child rape gangs. He has taken his own path in tackling this issue and we will take our own path in addressing this issue.’ This approach would have kept everyone onboard with Nigel. Also, Nigel came across very pompous in his GB interview when he said he would inform Musk at the inauguration of why Tommy is in prison for contempt of court- like Elon didn’t know this! and he said as much in his tweet back on this point hence the subsequent fall out on X. I do love Nigel and followed him for going on 20 years when I was in University. I know how the establishment has come after him on many occasions and this includes meddling with his car to create an accident. I took a keen interest in the man when he would come on Infowars in 2007 onwards as I knew then he was outside the web of Westminster uni-party politics. We all make mistakes, Nigel has made mistakes here on this matter. The best thing to do is learn them quickly and move on for the greater good. I also love watching and hearing you Alex❤️
I have already said this a few times on various platforms, I can fully understand why Nigel & Richard want to distance themselves from TR, because if they did cosy up to him, the MSM and chattering classes would have a field day.
However, I do think that both should not get drawn into derogatory comments about TR, is questioned, as Rupert Lowe commented, TR has done some good things trying to draw attention to these grooming gangs scandals, and has been treated unfairly at times, but he is not a suit Reform.
Great article Alex as always, but Nigel needs to calm the rhetoric down about Tommy, his gaff about Tommy having a conviction for abusing women was so wrong, he needs to find the balance that Rupert does.
Your are right about most of the elderly still watching MSM rather than independent media, those with parents in that demographic have a responsibility to enlighten them. My parents have been! bless LOL!
Keep up the great work Alex, hope to see you in London on 1st Feb 🤞
Alex - I fear you are missing the point. Nigel and Richard do not have to choose between upsetting one sector of voters or the other - the 'respectables' vs 'That Lot'. They can have both.
Instead, they have both gone out of their way to manufacture a division by deliberately insulting and alienating hundreds of thousands - or more likely millions - of their supporters.
They did not need to say anything at all about Yaxley and That Lot. It makes absolutely no sense. If he had applied for membership, Nigel might have needed to explain why he was rejected. But he hasn't and so he didn't. It is a manufactured crisis, and, coupled with the disgraceful celebration of Ben Habib's departure, a massive own goal. UKIP will reap the rewards from the fall-out and split the vote. It's a tragedy.
Common sense. Aligning Reform with Tommy Robinson would ensure it never gets another MP. Once it has more MPs, perhaps enough to become the official opposition or even to form a coalition or single party government, then it can pursue justice for Tommy Robinson. W ecannot afford to let the Left make Tommy Robinson the issue.
Moan: I can’t pay for subscriptions and I think the concept is unfair. I don’t have a handle on what people are thinking or on real political issues unless I hear it on radio.
I think part of Nigels problem is he hasn't quite internalized that he is fighting pure evil.
He wants the msm to like him , he wants the chattering classes to like him, he wants international finance to like him , he hasn't quite come to the realization that immigrants are going to have to be mass deported if we are going to fix things .
He just hasn't quite got the grit and anti establishment spirit to get him to the point he needs to be at.
The msm are tools of an evil system which oppresses our people and plays defence for our murderers . International finance is what created this evil system in the first place. The chattering classes are the weak , servile dogs who got in line when told to jump . Immigrants -not necessarily through their own fault - are the footsoldiers of that system.
Why should anyone want to be liked by evil? Why negotiate with it ? Why play it's game or care about it's words and opinions ?
The evil arms of international finance that turned our country into a hellscape should be crushed and regulated out of existence . The msm should be ignored. The chattering classes will get in line just as quickly with a new regime as they did with the old one. Immigrants who have abused us and leeched from us don't have opinions we should care about anyway, and there's no reason decent immigrants can't stay in small numbers .
The fact he still thinks he can negotiate with evil indicates to me that he doesn't believe in his heart that he is fighting evil.
Agree but reading this thread people would rather shoot themselves I the foot than just forget it and move on. It's off putting to me listening to all the carping and grievance.
I want honesty not games. Nigel was disparaging about Tommy without need. He doesn't want to join. We are sick playing games. Labour are a disaster and people need a right wing party to stand up for us and stop courting millionaires. They will alienate the working class by going after that lot. I want Reform to do well but am a bit disappointed recently with talk of Begum coming back and Charlie Mullins! Joining.
Agree with everything said. Nigel can distance himself and the party from Tommy Robinson without it looking like an attack on the man. Rupert Lowe did this in a post of his own recently that was perfect. That would literally be enough to stop the infighting which we really could do without.
Being from across the pond,(actually I could see China from the coast if Japan weren't in the way)..Just kidding,my eyes aren't that good, my opinion seems to be Western when it comes to my opinion on Tommy. Years ago I read his book "Enemy of The State", and it infuriated me. Your Gov. are dangerous horses asses. They allegedly represent Millions of Citizens and kneel to thousands of less than stellar New Brits. To me Tommy may have legal issues, from what seems like(in many cases) trumped up charges, but he has been calling out Monsters. People like Piers Morgan, seems so incensed with Tommy,but seems to lose the plot when it comes to the main topic. To me, Tommy is like a poor Donald Trump. They both fight like hell against a government who hate them.Most people would be quivering under their beds after the first attack. And Tommy doesn't have anywhere near the resources Donald has. I know Nigel is playing the long political game here, but he must acknowledge that a huge percentage of his support are also Tommy's supporters. I wish them both good luck. Those nasty Labour bastards have their hands on the levers of power, for now, but I hope they are relegated to the garbage cans of history sooner than later,because there is really something smelly going on with their denial of the rape gang investigations.
Yes it takes a certain kind of courage to stand up to injustice knowing you will likely lose everything. These are the brave individuals that go down in history and ultimately change the world.
This is my opinion aswell. The man is not without faults , but he is fighting people who are monstrous human scum. Tyrants , child murderers and rapists .
In light of that , I don't really think It matters whether or not he might have done drugs , committed mortgage fraud or stood on some court steps .
The mortgage fraud one in particular, who cares if a mortgage company loses money ? Since when did anyone care about big business ? I'm not going to cry about it .
Spot on!
Whilst I appreciate the points being made here, at the same time, this is the 'old model' of doing politics. This is a backward looking view on how to win.
Public trust in corporate media has never been lower. We are over 4 years away from the next election. What Reform should arguably be doing now is grabbing that Overton Window and running as far as they can down field.
Look at the people who are actually winning, and then bringing real change — it's Trump, Milei, Bukele, etc.
They did not win by cosying up to the corrupt media and institutions, and "moderating" and "compromising", or distancing themselves from "disfavoured" people. They won by sticking 2 fingers up to those power bases, and inviting the public to help them kick the doors in and clean house.
Nigel and Reform are trying to win an election how you would do so 20 years ago. That time is over. We now live in an age of public rage and instant messaging. Trust in the media has never been lower. Kowtowing to them to appear "moderate" is a fool's errand — they will call you racist anyway, so you might as well stand for something.
Trump understands the media better than Nigel (that you must lead *them*, and never let them lead *you*).
And Trump has a superpower that Farage is yet to develop: Not giving a toss what 'fancy folks' think of him, or whether they are frothing at the mouth.
Trump won by widening the discourse, not by staying within the 'polite parameters'. He would lob verbal grenades that blew open the Overton Window, and sent the media into abject hysterics... which was a twofer: the public would think 'Hmm, you know he's got a point there'... and the media would reveal themselves to be both reactionary and very ridiculous.
Nigel still wants to be *liked*, and to win within the parameters of 'polite society'. He will have to shed this weakness if he wants to lead the nation out of the mess we are in.
We're in serious trouble, this is the last chance saloon. We cannot have men who fold when offered 'deals' into the private club (as he did with Brexit Party), or who will back off the point when the media screech insults at him (as he did with UKIP).
There is no time left for playing a gentleman's game, on his enemy's terms. This is the time for men with backbone, who've shed their own egos in order to do something much greater than being liked. LEAD.
Trump won twice (probably 3 times if we're being honest about 2020). His win this time was far bigger than the last time, despite being the most hated and pilloried man in corporate media history. He has not softened any his stances, in fact his rhetoric and policy positioning on immigration has hardened considerably since 2016, when he won the first time. And as he moved from 'deport criminals' to 'deport all illegals' he actually gained more minority votes.
There's a lesson in there, for anyone observant.
Playing the pander-bear does not work. Someone will always outbid your pandering.
Pick a position, based on a clear principle, and then hammer it. Do not compromise, do not 'soften'. Keep hammering your agenda, and ignore the media hysteria. It's not real. It's not the media who vote — it's the public. And the public want a strong leader who will go to the power centres, kick the doors in, and fight for them. They do not need more wishy washy, pandering, sway-in-the-wind leadership.
If Nigel wants to run Reform like Tories 2.0 (same incompetence, 10% more rhetorical gusto) then he will fail.
He will never again have an opportunity like this one. Reform are 4 years out from an election, facing a government who are angering the public and digging their own grave daily. The Tories have shown no sign of getting their sh*t together. Now is the time to grab that Overton Window and start running. Start throwing grenades into the media cycle, staking out the most *extreme version* of their position.
Take a lesson from Trump and Milei.
Politics is negotiation, and you can't win a negotiation by compromising in the first round (ie before election). You have to stake out a *more extreme* position than you intend to land on, knowing that once elected you will have to make some compromises to push that agenda thru (see: Trump, right now). British politicians, particularly on the right, still don't get this. They don't understand how to negotiate to win.
I agree completely which is why I prefer Lowe. That man says it how it is, does not pander to anyone. Farage needs to take a harder stance if he wants not only to win but to change this country. I love Matt Goodwin, he too is not afraid to say it how it is.
People in this country need to know what Reform stand for, what 'they' think, what their principles are and sod the lefty media. There aren't many out there that believe their crap anymore. The young are scared and need a future, if Farage can tell them what he will do to this country to change it in favour of them; they will vote and they'll vote for him. I have a son whose 26, he voted Reform at the GE but he is still sceptical about them. They need to come out harder and stronger. I think they'll be surprised at the support for them but they will have to have tough skins. The left will play very dirty, they always have!!
Damn - I wish I had written this! Couldn't have put it better.
1. Tommy is not, and never has been, asking to join Reform.
2. It is totally unnecessary for Nigel to keep lying about him.
3. All he had to say is he doesn't support him, and doesn't think he'd be right for the party.
4. Millions of Reform voters, including Howard Cox who's JUST quit the party over exactly this, are at least tacitly supportive of what Tommy has done to expose the gangs, going all the way back to the 2000s.
5. Donald Trump Jr, and Elon Musk, have both made supportive comments towards Tommy.
6. Daddy Trump is about to enter the oval office again, and he's gonna kick butts.
Starmer - toast. Lammy - toast. Rayner - toast. Nigel... , well, we'll have to wait and see. But Daddy Trump is hardly gonna pick Nigel over his own son and his right hand man, Elon. Does Nigel want to play a very dangerous game of bluff, particularly when he has much more to lose than they do?
An error doesn't have to become a mistake unless we refuse to correct it. Perhaps there's just enough time for Nigel to get the genie back into the bottle... , maybe.
Please convey the following message to Nigel for me when you see him (I speak as a Reform party member): if you can't say anything nice about Tommy, please would you just say nothing at all. Is that really so much to ask?
Well said. History favours the brave and not someone who punches low when the individual is in solidarity confinement and certainly not when they lie about them with no right to reply.
Agree with you Alex but also agree with others in the comments that Nigel has shot himself in the foot on Tommy Robinson and has not walked the line here to draw in as many votes and that includes dormant voters. Rupert set the example on how to do it for the rest of Reform. Nigel seems overly keen to highlight Tommy’s criminal convictions in every interview- ok he can do that if wants but i don’t think it’s a great strategy because there is a whole lot more to say about how those convictions came about into existence and people are aware of this nuance but Nigel doesn’t afford that courtesy in listing them. The most egregious error Nigel has made of late is to lie on LBC and say Tommy has convictions for violence against women. If I was Nigel when asked on Tommy, I would state first that: ‘Tommy has never asked to join Reform. He has campaigned for many years on Child rape gangs. He has taken his own path in tackling this issue and we will take our own path in addressing this issue.’ This approach would have kept everyone onboard with Nigel. Also, Nigel came across very pompous in his GB interview when he said he would inform Musk at the inauguration of why Tommy is in prison for contempt of court- like Elon didn’t know this! and he said as much in his tweet back on this point hence the subsequent fall out on X. I do love Nigel and followed him for going on 20 years when I was in University. I know how the establishment has come after him on many occasions and this includes meddling with his car to create an accident. I took a keen interest in the man when he would come on Infowars in 2007 onwards as I knew then he was outside the web of Westminster uni-party politics. We all make mistakes, Nigel has made mistakes here on this matter. The best thing to do is learn them quickly and move on for the greater good. I also love watching and hearing you Alex❤️
I have already said this a few times on various platforms, I can fully understand why Nigel & Richard want to distance themselves from TR, because if they did cosy up to him, the MSM and chattering classes would have a field day.
However, I do think that both should not get drawn into derogatory comments about TR, is questioned, as Rupert Lowe commented, TR has done some good things trying to draw attention to these grooming gangs scandals, and has been treated unfairly at times, but he is not a suit Reform.
Great article Alex as always, but Nigel needs to calm the rhetoric down about Tommy, his gaff about Tommy having a conviction for abusing women was so wrong, he needs to find the balance that Rupert does.
Your are right about most of the elderly still watching MSM rather than independent media, those with parents in that demographic have a responsibility to enlighten them. My parents have been! bless LOL!
Keep up the great work Alex, hope to see you in London on 1st Feb 🤞
Alex - I fear you are missing the point. Nigel and Richard do not have to choose between upsetting one sector of voters or the other - the 'respectables' vs 'That Lot'. They can have both.
Instead, they have both gone out of their way to manufacture a division by deliberately insulting and alienating hundreds of thousands - or more likely millions - of their supporters.
They did not need to say anything at all about Yaxley and That Lot. It makes absolutely no sense. If he had applied for membership, Nigel might have needed to explain why he was rejected. But he hasn't and so he didn't. It is a manufactured crisis, and, coupled with the disgraceful celebration of Ben Habib's departure, a massive own goal. UKIP will reap the rewards from the fall-out and split the vote. It's a tragedy.
Common sense. Aligning Reform with Tommy Robinson would ensure it never gets another MP. Once it has more MPs, perhaps enough to become the official opposition or even to form a coalition or single party government, then it can pursue justice for Tommy Robinson. W ecannot afford to let the Left make Tommy Robinson the issue.
Also Alex.. Thank you so much for allowing us access, to such a bright and articulate woman.
Q) "Who's behind Reform's mischief?"
A) The moneyed muslim Zia Yousef.
Moan: I can’t pay for subscriptions and I think the concept is unfair. I don’t have a handle on what people are thinking or on real political issues unless I hear it on radio.
I think part of Nigels problem is he hasn't quite internalized that he is fighting pure evil.
He wants the msm to like him , he wants the chattering classes to like him, he wants international finance to like him , he hasn't quite come to the realization that immigrants are going to have to be mass deported if we are going to fix things .
He just hasn't quite got the grit and anti establishment spirit to get him to the point he needs to be at.
The msm are tools of an evil system which oppresses our people and plays defence for our murderers . International finance is what created this evil system in the first place. The chattering classes are the weak , servile dogs who got in line when told to jump . Immigrants -not necessarily through their own fault - are the footsoldiers of that system.
Why should anyone want to be liked by evil? Why negotiate with it ? Why play it's game or care about it's words and opinions ?
The evil arms of international finance that turned our country into a hellscape should be crushed and regulated out of existence . The msm should be ignored. The chattering classes will get in line just as quickly with a new regime as they did with the old one. Immigrants who have abused us and leeched from us don't have opinions we should care about anyway, and there's no reason decent immigrants can't stay in small numbers .
The fact he still thinks he can negotiate with evil indicates to me that he doesn't believe in his heart that he is fighting evil.
Agree but reading this thread people would rather shoot themselves I the foot than just forget it and move on. It's off putting to me listening to all the carping and grievance.
I want honesty not games. Nigel was disparaging about Tommy without need. He doesn't want to join. We are sick playing games. Labour are a disaster and people need a right wing party to stand up for us and stop courting millionaires. They will alienate the working class by going after that lot. I want Reform to do well but am a bit disappointed recently with talk of Begum coming back and Charlie Mullins! Joining.
Totally consistant with the analysis you gave in the interview with Liam Tuffs. We can't do without you Alex! A uniter and strategist. 🙏❤️
HE IS A SNAKE.