“I’m a hero to some people, and an absolute villain to millions," Nigel Farage said on his first day in the I'm A Celebrity camp. "In the jungle, you're going to find the real me."
The 59-year-old's inclusion seems to be part of a pattern of rehabilitating divisive politicians; disgraced former health secretary Matt Hancock joined last year's series after he was forced to resign from his government position for breaking Covid-19 restrictions while conducting an affair.
Hero or villain, there is no doubt that Farage's three decades in British politics have been defined by controversy. Dubbed "the man who broke Britain" for his role in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and viewed by many as a far-right bigot, he is no stranger to scandal.
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Even from an early age, Farage was no stranger to controversy.
While at south London private school Dulwich college, Farage was active in the Conservative Party, after being inspired by a school visit by Tory MP Keith Joseph.
Famously decried by David Cameron as a bunch of 'fruitcakes, loonies, and closet racists', UKIP quickly became scandal-ridden
But in 1981, an English teacher wrote to the headteacher asking him to reconsider his decision to appoint him a prefect, citing reports of fascist views. Another teacher said that on a Combined Cadet Force camp organised by the college, Farage and others “marched through a quiet Sussex village very late at night shouting Hitler Youth songs".
Both the headmaster and the deputy headmaster rejected the claims about extreme views, and the latter said Farage merely enjoyed provoking left-wing teachers whom he thought had no sense of humour.
Farage later stated: "Any accusation [that] I was ever involved in far-right politics is utterly untrue."
Around a third of sixth-form students at Dulwich went on to study at Oxbridge. Farage was not one them; after getting mediocre A-level results, he rejected university altogether, and went to work in the City in order to "make a lot of money", according to his biography.
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Farage was a founder member of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 1993, after years of being a prominent Eurosceptic.
In 1994, he asked Enoch Powell, whom he once described as one of his idols, to back UKIP but was turned down.
He was elected leader of the party in 2006, with 45 per cent of the vote.
Famously decried by David Cameron as a bunch of “fruitcakes, loonies, and closet racists”, UKIP shortly grew to become scandal-ridden, with one MEP jailed for fraud, and others embroiled in racism scandals.
Nevertheless, Farage managed to take the get together from the political fringe to the mainstream, by pulling collectively a coalition of indignant voters from throughout regular get together traces. UKIP noticed important breakthroughs on the 2013 native elections, 2014 European Parliamentary elections, and 2015 basic election.
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In the method, he cornered then prime minister Cameron into promising the 2016 Brexit referendum. His give attention to immigration was closely criticised by opponents (extra on this later), particularly a campaign poster displaying a line of asylum seekers with the phrases "Breaking Point" on it.
Mere hours after the UK voted to depart the EU, Farage had already admitted that one of many Leave marketing campaign's key pledges – £350 million further for the NHS per week, famously plastered on the Brexit tour bus – was a "mistake".
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Farage then stepped down as UKIP chief, later establishing the Brexit Party. Four months later, it topped the polls within the 2019 European Parliamentary elections.
UKIP subsequently noticed its vote share and membership closely decline, shedding nearly all its elected representatives. It then drifted even additional in direction of a far-right, anti-Islam message.
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In 2014, he mentioned that the “basic principle” of Enoch Powell’s notorious anti-immigration Rivers of Blood speech was correct.
In a 2014 interview on LBC, Farage mentioned he felt "uncomfortable" when he heard folks talking in different languages on London transport.
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When LBC radio presenter James O’Brien adopted that by asking why he objects to Romanian migrants however not Germans – like his spouse – Farage retorted: "You know the difference."
Farage additionally steered he can be involved dwelling subsequent to a home of Romanians.
That identical yr, Farage additionally blamed immigrants when he was greater than two hours late for an occasion, claiming they had been inflicting visitors on the M4.
"That has nothing to do with professionalism," he mentioned of his lateness. "What is does have to do with is a country in which the population is going through the roof, chiefly because of open-door immigration, and the fact the M4 is not as navigable as it used to be."
Two months later, he defended a UKIP candidate for utilizing the phrase "ch**ky" to explain a Chinese individual.
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"If you and your mates were going out for a Chinese, what do you say you’re going for?" he requested.
In 2017, Farage got here below fireplace for antisemitism after an LBC interview through which he described the so-called US “Jewish lobby” as a priority of his.
Farage got here below fireplace for his 2016 anti-immigration poster, which depicted a line of refugees, nearly all of whom had been non-white and male, below the slogan "breaking point".
It was branded "vile" by chancellor of the time George Osbourne, who mentioned it "echoed" Nazi propaganda.
Boris Johnson, who led the official Vote Leave marketing campaign, mentioned the poster was “not our campaign” and “not my politics”.
'Maybe it’s as a result of I’ve acquired so many ladies pregnant through the years that I've a distinct view'
Nigel Farage on maternity depart
Farage additionally known as for a ban on people with HIV migrating to the UK. When requested who must be allowed to come back to the UK, he mentioned: “People who do not have HIV, to be frank. That’s a good start. And people with a skill.”
In 2015, he additionally mentioned that NHS cash spent on latest immigrants with HIV can be higher positioned treating other taxpayers with severe situations.
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One of Farage’s most well-known moments got here on election day in 2010, when his two-seater UKIP marketing campaign aircraft crashed after his "Vote UKIP" banner grew to become entangled, inflicting the plane to nosedive.
Before the aircraft took off, Farage allegedly joked: "I just hope the plane doesn’t blow up and crash."
Farage was seen strolling out of the plane lined in blood earlier than being taken to Horton hospital in Banbury.
He later admitted he thought he was going to die within the crash, from which he emerged with fractured neck vertebrae, and damaged ribs.
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On girls and work, Farage mentioned in 2014: “If a woman with a client base has a child and takes two or three years off work, she is worth far less to the employer when she comes back than when she goes away because her client base cannot be stuck rigidly to her.”
He additionally added: “Maybe it’s because I’ve got so many women pregnant over the years that I have a different view [of maternity leave].”
"If all of us were caught out on what we’ve said on a night out after a drink, none of us would be here," he added.
In 2014, the UKIP chief additionally mentioned that breastfeeding girls ought to "sit in the corner".
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On his political idols, Farage said in 2014: "As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin. The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant."
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Farage's views on the Russian dictator appear to have have mellowed barely.
Farage praised Trump for 'dominating' Hillary Clinton like a 'silverback gorilla' in an election debate
"Vladimir Putin is a nationalist Russian. He wants to get back – at least I thought he wanted to get back – the Russian-speaking areas [of Ukraine] into his country," he mentioned.
"Those provinces in Ukraine, well, they are Russian-speaking… I always thought we were dealing with someone very logical, but now I don’t think he is."
He mentioned that the invasion was "abhorrent" but in addition "predictable", and blamed Putin’s actions on the EU and Nato scary him.
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Farage has been constantly vocal about his support for former US president Donald Trump, and was even the primary British politician to satisfy him after his 2016 victory.
In the run-up to the US presidential elections of 2016, Farage mentioned that if he might, he would vote for Donald Trump.
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In July 2023, Farage obtained internal documents from private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest, that confirmed its reputational threat committee had accused him of “pandering to racists” and being a “disingenuous grifter”. It determined that his politics had been “at odds with our position as an inclusive organisation” and notified him of the intention to shut his accounts.
NatWest chief government Dame Alison Rose admitted she had misled a BBC reporter into believing that Coutts took the choice solely for business causes, resulting in an inaccurate article.
The scandal in the end led to the resignation of Dame Alison in July and the departure of Peter Flavel, the chief government of Coutts, quickly after.
An impartial evaluate into the choice to shut Farage’s accounts discovered that though there have been “serious failings” in NatWest’s therapy of the previous politician, the choice was lawful. Farage responded by calling the report a “whitewash”.
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