Bbc ask nigel farage biography
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I cannot accept this sort of behaviour in the European Parliament. And it begins right now" and "I have never been, and I have never wanted to be, a career politician."[133] Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, described Farage as a "retro-nationalist",[134] Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said that his legacy is "toxic and unforgivable" and that "He has used his position to whip up hatred against migrants and divert attention from the real challenges this country is facing."[135] Paul Nuttall, a UKIP MEP, tweeted that Farage's "drive and belief shook establishment politics to its core and gave us a voice"[136] and Suzanne Evans, former Deputy Chairman of UKIP, said that Farage's resignation surprised her, but "there is room still in Britain for UKIP".[137] Writing in The Spectator, after his resignation, the journalist Rod Liddle described Farage as: "The most important British politician of the last decade and the most successful.
It further reported that these benefits, worth "as much as £450,000", were funded by Arron Banks, and were not declared on Farage's register of interests, which he should have done as a serving MEP. Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder, in her role as a quaestor (an MEP responsible for financial and administrative matters), raised the issue and this resulted in an official investigation opening on 21 May 2019.
How many journalists in jail now?"[238] Farage has criticised what he sees as EU militarism agitating western Ukrainians against Russia.[239] Later, in 2015, he said about Putin that "The European Union, and the West, view Putin as the devil. now I want my life back"[77] and added that this resignation was final: "I won’t be changing my mind again, I can promise you",[78] apparently referring to his two previous resignations (in 2009 and 2015).[79]
Westminster elections
Farage has contested British parliamentary elections unsuccessfully for UKIP seven times, both before and after his election as an MEP in 1999.
What I said during the referendum campaign is I want my country back. His daughters ran away to hide and were later found to be safe. . He had the left testicle removed, and the cancer had not spread to any other organs.[216]
In 2010 Farage published a memoir, entitled Fighting Bull (Flying Free in paperback), outlining the founding of UKIP and his personal and political life so far.[260] A second book, The Purple Revolution: The Year That Changed Everything, was released by Biteback Publishing in 2015.[216]
Farage is a keen cricket fan and has appeared on Test Match Special.[261] He appeared in an advertisement for the bookmaker Paddy Power ahead of golf's 2014 Ryder Cup.[262] However, due to spinal injuries since his 2010 plane crash, he cannot play golf.[263] Farage is also an association football fan, and supports Crystal Palace FC.[264] He likes to relax by fishing alone at night on the Kent coast.[254] Farage is a smoker[265] and also fond of beer, this forming part of his public image.[266] Farage is a member of the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club, a gentlemen's club situated in St.
James's Square in London.[267]
Farage is a Christian. During an interview with BBC's Good Morning Scotland radio show, Farage cut short the exchange, stating that the questions regarding the incident in Edinburgh were insulting and unpleasant.[115]
Tax avoidance
Farage said in 2013 that he had hired a tax advisor to set up the Farage Family Educational Trust 1654, a trust that Farage said was used "for inheritance purposes", on the Isle of Man.[116] Farage later described this "as standard practice", but stated he "decided I didn't want it.
He was in casts for 11 months but recovered, and the nurse who treated him became his first wife.[259] On 26 December 1986, Farage first felt symptoms of what was later discovered to be testicular cancer. According to The Sunday Telegraph, he did not want the Brexit Party to face Conservative opposition in constituencies such as Wansbeck and West Bromwich East and in return the Brexit Party would not contest seats where the leave vote was at risk of splitting.[165] Farage said that his party and the Conservatives "together would be unstoppable".[166]
On 11 September, a senior Conservative source said that Farage was "not a fit and proper person" and "should never be allowed anywhere near government".
Under the 2002 European Union decision to forbid MEPs from holding a dual mandate, if he had been elected to the House of Commons, he would have had to resign his seat as an MEP.
When he contested the Bromley & Chislehurst constituency in a May 2006 by-election, following the death of Eurosceptic Conservative MP Eric Forth, Farage came third, winning 8 per cent of the vote, beating the Labour Party candidate.
Raheem Kassam, Farage's chief of staff and editor of Breitbart London was later sacked as a result, whilst O'Flynn stated that he continued to support Farage as party leader.[102] Farage also faced a number of calls from senior figures within the party to stand down.[103]
Following the election, a UKIP spokesman acknowledged[104] that after a series of threatening attacks on Farage it had sent an informant into the Thanet branch of the protest organisation Stand Up to UKIP, stating "in order to provide reasonable security it was of course necessary to have information from the inside", an approach he said was used by "a great many security operations tasked with protecting the safety and wellbeing of a targeted individual".
The owner of the breakdown garage concerned had said the problem was probably shoddy repair work, but he had been unable to communicate directly with Farage.[271] Farage later said he had made a "terrible, terrible mistake" in speaking to journalists and that a Sunday newspaper had misreported his claims of tampering as an assassination attempt.[272]
Awards
In November 2016 Farage was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the 2016 Brexit referendum at the 33rd Parliamentarian of the Year awards run by political magazine The Spectator.[273][274]
In December 2016 he was shortlisted for Time (magazine) magazine's Person of the Year award.[275]
See also
- 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
- Brexit: The Uncivil War, 2019 film
- ↑Served as Chairman of Independence/Democracy (2004–2009) and Europe of Freedom and Democracy (2009–2014)
- ↑ 2.02.1"Biography of Nigel Farage at the European Parliament". European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/4525/NIGEL_FARAGE/home. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ↑ 3.03.1Farage, Nigel (4 December 2018). "With a heavy heart, I am leaving Ukip.
Farage responded by saying: "the Israeli lobby, you know, that’s a reasonable point, Ahmed, because there are about 6 million Jewish people living in America, so as a percentage it’s quite small, but in terms of influence it’s quite big...in terms of money and influence, yep, they are a very powerful lobby," and "there are other very powerful foreign lobbies in the United States of America, and the Jewish lobby, with its links with the Israeli government, is one of those strong voices."[198][199][200] Farage's remarks were condemned by the Campaign Against Antisemitism[200] and the Anti-Defamation League, which said that Farage's comment "plays into deep-seated anti-Semitic tropes" and was fuel for extremist conspiracy theories.[199]
Involvement in European politics
During the 2016 Austrian presidential election campaign, Farage said that Norbert Hofer, the Freedom Party candidate, would call for a "Brexit style referendum" if he won.
When interviewer James O'Brien inquired what would be the difference between Romanian men moving next door and a group of German children, in reference to Farage's German wife and children, Farage replied: "You know the difference."[221][222][223] He later expanded on this on the UKIP website, stating that "if we were able to operate a proper work permit scheme for Romanian nationals, with suitable checks, as recommended by UKIP, then nobody would need to be concerned if a group of Romanian nationals moved in next door to them."[224]
Farage called on the British government in 2013 to accept more refugees from the Syrian Civil War.[225] He later said that those refugees should be of the country's Christian minority, due to the existence of nearer Muslim-majority safe countries.[226] During the ensuing migration crisis, Farage alleged that the majority of people claiming to be refugees were economic migrants, and that some were Islamic State militants.[227]
In a 2015 interview Farage stated that he had a "slight preference" for immigrants from countries such as India and Australia compared to those from Eastern Europe, as they "are in some ways more likely to speak English, understand common law and have a connection with this country".[228] Polish aristocrat John Zylinski challenged Farage to a sword duel in Hyde Park over Farage's comments on immigration.[229]
Foreign policy
Farage has been highly critical of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying "Nobody should forget that the most devastating direct consequences of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been suffered by the likes of Mr Blair, but by the civilian populations of these countries and of course by our own brave service personnel".[230] Farage stated that migrant exodus from Libya had been caused by NATO military intervention, approved by David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy, in the civil war in Libya.[231] When the UK Parliament was debating direct military involvement in Syria in 2013, Farage cited the financial and human costs and poor outcomes of the UK involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan as reasons for Britain not to become involved militarily in Syria.
This way of watching the programme is available (officially) via LBC's YouTube channel, LBC's Facebook page, LBC's Twitter feed as well as LBC's Periscope account during the time the show is live on-air. I'd never heard of you, nobody in Europe had ever heard of you." He also asserted that Van Rompuy's "intention [is] to be the quiet assassin of European democracy and of the European nation states".[47][48] Van Rompuy commented afterwards, "There was one contribution that I can only hold in contempt, but I'm not going to comment further."[47] After refusing to apologise for behaviour that was, in the words of the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, "inappropriate, unparliamentary and insulting to the dignity of the House", Farage was reprimanded and had his right to ten days' allowance (expenses) "docked".[49][50]
Buzek said after his meeting with Farage:
I defend absolutely Mr Farage's right to disagree about the policy or institutions of the Union, but not to personally insult our guests in the European Parliament or the country from which they may come...
O'Flynn accused Farage of paying too much attention to advisors that "would like to take UKIP in the direction of some hard-right, ultra-aggressive American Tea Party-type movement", singling out the NHS and gun control liberalisation as particular issues. In June 2016 he was a prominent supporter of the successful campaign for a vote in favour of leaving the EU in the UK EU membership referendum.[13] On 4 July 2016, he again announced his resignation as leader of UKIP, triggering a leadership election.[14][15] He was ranked second in The Daily Telegraph's Top 100 most influential right-wingers poll in October 2013, behind Prime Minister David Cameron.[16] Farage was named "Briton of the Year" by The Times in 2014.[17] In 2017, he began contributing to the American television network Fox News.[18] In 2018 he joined Leave Means Leave.[19] On 4 December 2018, Farage announced his resignation from UKIP over the appointment of Tommy Robinson as an adviser to the UKIP leader Gerard Batten and the decision of the National Executive of UKIP to keep Batten as leader of the party.[3][20]
On 13 February 2019 Farage confirmed that he would sit as a member of the Brexit Party in the European Parliament.[21] On 22 March 2019, Farage was officially announced as the new Leader of the Brexit Party after Catherine Blaiklock's resignation.[22]
Early life
Ancestry and childhood
Farage was born in Farnborough, Kent, England,[2] the son of Barbara (née Stevens) and Guy Justus Oscar Farage.[23][24][25] His father was a stockbroker who worked in the City of London.
The BBC spent four months filming a documentary about his European election campaign in 1999, but did not air it.