Farage's teenage racism allegations spark outrage and demands for accountability. A number of Cabinet ministers, including Liz Kendall and Jo Stevens, have condemned the detailed and multiple allegations of racism by former UKIP leader Nigel Farage when he was a teenager as "repulsive". The claims, which include testimony from around 20 individuals who witnessed or were victims of abusive behavior at Dulwich college in the late 1970s and early 1980s, suggest that Farage's views on immigration and Islam during his teenage years may have been rooted in racist ideology.
The Labour Party has welcomed the allegations, with party leader Keir Starmer calling for Farage to address the claims. "It is absolutely unacceptable that Nigel Farage would deny these serious allegations," Starmer said. "He needs to take responsibility for his actions and explain why he never apologized for them when they were first reported."
However, Reform UK's response has been more muted. A spokesperson dismissed the allegations as "entirely without foundation" and claimed that they are "one person's word against another". This stance is a significant departure from Farage's previous responses to similar allegations in 2013, when he suggested that some of his past comments may have been misunderstood or taken out of context.
The denial by Reform UK has sparked anger among those who claim to have been victims of Farage's alleged racism. Peter Ettedgui, an award-winning director who was a classmate of Farage at Dulwich college, described how Farage would often heckle and hector him as a Jew, using language that he claims is still etched in his memory today.
Ettedgui also questioned why Farage had not apologized for his alleged past conduct. "The easiest thing for him to have said when these allegations first came up would have been: 'Yes, I did say some extraordinarily upsetting things to people that were racist...'," Ettedgui said. "He's never said that."
The implications of the allegations are significant, particularly given Farage's current leadership ambitions and his proposed role in shaping the UK's policy on immigration. As one Labour MP put it: "Do you want a man who has a history of racism to run the country?"
The Labour Party has welcomed the allegations, with party leader Keir Starmer calling for Farage to address the claims. "It is absolutely unacceptable that Nigel Farage would deny these serious allegations," Starmer said. "He needs to take responsibility for his actions and explain why he never apologized for them when they were first reported."
However, Reform UK's response has been more muted. A spokesperson dismissed the allegations as "entirely without foundation" and claimed that they are "one person's word against another". This stance is a significant departure from Farage's previous responses to similar allegations in 2013, when he suggested that some of his past comments may have been misunderstood or taken out of context.
The denial by Reform UK has sparked anger among those who claim to have been victims of Farage's alleged racism. Peter Ettedgui, an award-winning director who was a classmate of Farage at Dulwich college, described how Farage would often heckle and hector him as a Jew, using language that he claims is still etched in his memory today.
Ettedgui also questioned why Farage had not apologized for his alleged past conduct. "The easiest thing for him to have said when these allegations first came up would have been: 'Yes, I did say some extraordinarily upsetting things to people that were racist...'," Ettedgui said. "He's never said that."
The implications of the allegations are significant, particularly given Farage's current leadership ambitions and his proposed role in shaping the UK's policy on immigration. As one Labour MP put it: "Do you want a man who has a history of racism to run the country?"
. if you were in his shoes and did this stuff, would you just take responsibility or try to brush it off? seems to me that he's trying to hide something big 
. all these people coming forward saying they witnessed him being a racist and now Reform UK is basically saying their stories are not true... that's really sad 
. and what's the point of having a public figure who denies allegations like this? shouldn't they be held accountable for their actions? it just feels like he's trying to use his current power to silence people instead of facing them 
i mean we know that he was a teenager when this stuff went down but that doesn't make it okay, you know? 
and now reform uk is saying that the allegations are "entirely without foundation" which is literally unbelievable 
peter ettedgui is like the ultimate proof of these claims and he's still carrying around the scars from when farage was a teenager 
this is a big deal but reform uk just played it so safe? where's their proof that these allegations are totally made up? 
peter ettedgui's testimony is pretty credible, especially considering he was literally in the same class as farage at dulwich college. and what's with reform uk's 'one person's word against another' line? that's just not good enough 
i need to see some concrete evidence before i can believe these allegations are entirely without foundation... 
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I mean, it's not like he's been pretending to be some kind of innocent bystander or anything... 
. It's about time Farage apologized for his past conduct - or better yet, just doesn't run for politics ever again 
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and yet Reform UK is just brushing it off like nothing happened 
Nigel Farage was literally bullied as a teen and now he's trying to defend himself like nothing ever happened?! 
The fact that he never apologized for his alleged racism is just insane! 
What if those people who were victims of his bullying are still alive today? Wouldn't they deserve some kinda closure or apology?! 
Peter Ettedgui's story is literally chilling me out right now... how could someone be so heartless?! 
The fact that Farage's leadership ambitions are still a thing after these allegations is just... *mind blown* 
and to make matters worse, Reform UK is trying to downplay this by calling it "one person's word against another" 
. Like, how can they just dismiss all these people's testimonies? 20+ witnesses and Peter Ettedgui still remembering the pain of being heckled by Farage as a teenager - it's not easy to just "write it off" or downplay this stuff 
. The UK deserves a leader who'll make tough decisions without having a racist ideology clouding their judgment 
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. We need to see some accountability here 
1 in 5 people in the UK believe Nigel Farage's past racist behavior should be taken into account when considering his leadership ambitions 
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A total of 22 alleged victims of Farage's racism came forward in recent years, but Reform UK still denies the allegations as "one person's word against another" 
The impact on Farage's 2024 leadership bid? 
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Fast forward to 2050: what do historical records show about the long-term impact of racism on individuals and society? 
. The UK needs to take a hard look at its history, including Farage's alleged behavior 
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!
It's not exactly rocket science to apologize for your own sh*t. And Reform UK thinks they can just dismiss all this as "one person's word against another"? 
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. Peter Ettedgui, who was actually a classmate of Farage's at Dulwich college, is still traumatized by the guy's alleged racism, and that's not something you can just forget or brush off 
. But because it's Farage, and he's still got aspirations to lead the country? Forget about it 
I don't think so 
. The Labour Party is onto something by calling for him to take responsibility for his actions 
. Maybe then we can start having a real conversation about how we can create a more inclusive society