Nigel Farage has lead crowds at a rally in a chant of “we want our country back” as he said the 2024 election is the “tip of the iceberg” for Reform.
The Reform UK leader entered his party’s rally at Clacton pier in Essex on an army vehicle to the tune of Without Me by Eminem .
The vehicle drove through the crowds before reversing, narrowly avoiding contact with a woman on a mobility scooter.
The crowd booed when Mr Farage referenced Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, referring to him as “slippery Rishi”.
He said: “He tells you that for low taxes, he tells you therefore reduced immigration, but they promise that in the last four manifestos, so why the hell should we believe them on the fifth?”
He added: “For all of us that voted Brexit, for everybody that helped (the Conservatives) win that 80 seat majority under Boris Johnson in 2019 they have betrayed our trust and they deserve to lose the election.”
Mr Farage sarcastically called Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “one of the great charisma filled characters of the 21st century”, saying “talk about boring, God help us”.
He got some of his biggest reactions from the crowd when he moved on to talk about what he claims should be the defining issue of the General Election – immigration.
He said: “(Keir Starmer) doesn’t mention the boats crossing the English Channel, doesn’t mention the 4,000 dinghys filled with young men who as soon as they arrive, get medical care, get dental care. How are you getting on for dentists in Clacton? You should have come by dinghy.
“And of course, four star hotels, three square meals a day and not one of them that comes illegally has ever been deported to Rwanda and we’re spending billions and billions on this.
“And I sense amongst the British people there is a profound sense, this is unfair, this is wrong and this needs to stop and stop soon.”
Mr Farage said Reform’s ambitions stretch far beyond the results on Thursday.
He said: “This is the first step of a new political movement, but this is not just about winning seats in Parliament, which we will, it’s about forming an opposition to a Starmer led government with a big majority.
“The Conservatives can’t do that. They say split, they’re so divided and frankly, I think pretty devoid of talent.”
He added: “I’m determined, I’m not frightened of anybody, I stand up for what I believe in, I always say what I think, I will not be bullied by anybody, whether it’s the European Commission, national Westminster bank, or a Keir Starmer government.
“But here’s the important thing. Everybody talks about who’s going to be sitting in Parliament. But for us that is the tip of the iceberg.
“My aim and ambition over the next few years is to turn this into a massive grass roots movement of millions of people.”
From atop the tank, the Reform leader then got the crowd chanting “We want our country back”.
He continued: “We’ve had enough of being talked down to by media, by politicians, by people in schools telling our kids all the wrong things.
“I believe, I really believe that tomorrow marks the first step of what is going to be a truly historic political change in the direction of our country.”
David Howell who attended the rally said he “loved” Mr Farage, describing him as the “best politician going and he’s so relatable to the ordinary man”.
Asked about Mr Farage’s prospects at this election, Mr Howell said: “I think he’ll make a little spark, hopefully a big spark and next election though that will be different.
“I predict he’ll take over the Tory party and Reform and the Tories will merge. And then there’ll be a more right of centre party.”
20-year-old Clacton resident Joshua Millar described his home town as “the most racist place probably in the UK” and said he came out to see Mr Farage because he “finds it funny that he’s here”.
Mr Millar said the Reform UK leader “100%” villainises migrants, saying Mr Farage “villainises them, makes them seem like they’re monsters, but they’re not.”
Asked who he would be supporting at the polls, Mr Millar said: “I’m not voting, because I feel like it’s a waste of time, frankly.”
Life-long Tory voter Morgan Hopkins said that immigration was the biggest issue for him at this election, but he was switching to Reform after the Conservatives lost his vote for violating lockdown rules.
He said: “I’ve become so disillusioned with partygate, and particularly the way that people were partying after the Queen lost her husband, that it’s time for the Tories to go.”
Mr Hopkins said the Conservatives bringing Boris Johnson out to speak at a rally “solidified the fact that they’re worried and that they’re panicking. They’re pulling out all the stops.”
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