Nigel Farage has made a career out of peddling fear, feeding the British public a diet of half-truths, selective outrage and flag-waving populism. He masquerades as a plain-speaking “man of the people” while sowing division and mistrust. And nowhere is this more evident than in his ceaseless rhetoric on immigration and climate change — two of the most important issues of our time, reduced in his hands to crude culture-war talking points.
Immigration: A Convenient Scapegoat
Farage’s anti-immigration narrative is one of his most enduring political tools. He’s spent over a decade blaming migrants for everything from housing shortages to wage stagnation to NHS waiting times. But let’s put some facts on the table.
In 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that net migration to the UK was 672,000 — a record high, largely driven by post-Brexit changes, refugee schemes for Ukrainians and Hongkongers, and the new points-based immigration system introduced by the Conservatives. Farage, naturally, seized on this number with faux outrage. What he didn’t mention was that much of this migration was the direct result of government policy — a government shaped by the very Brexit he championed.
More importantly, he ignores what immigration actually contributes. Research from University College London found that EEA migrants contributed £20 billion more in taxes than they received in benefits between 2000 and 2011. Non-EEA migrants also made a net contribution, albeit smaller. The NHS, care sector, and tech industry would collapse without foreign workers. In 2021, 1 in 7 NHS staff were non-British nationals. In adult social care, 17% of workers were born outside the UK.
Farage and his ilk like to claim that immigration drives down wages. But the Migration Advisory Committee — the body set up by the government itself — has found little evidence of this, particularly in the long term. What depresses wages is austerity, the erosion of workers’ rights, and the decimation of union power — all of which Farage has been conspicuously silent about.
And then there’s the culture war element. Farage often paints immigration as an existential threat to “British values”. But what values are those? Tolerance? Diversity? Resilience? The Britain he claims to defend has always been shaped by migration — from Huguenots and Irish labourers to Windrush and EU citizens. His narrative is not about defending culture but about weaponising nostalgia.
Climate Change: Mockery in Place of Policy
Farage’s attacks on climate action are no less dangerous. He has branded net-zero policies as “a scam”, dismissed environmental activism as “Marxism dressed up in green”, and insisted that Britain “can’t save the world” on its own. It’s the same lazy logic used by climate deniers for decades: if others aren’t acting, why should we?
But this argument falls apart under the weight of even the most basic scrutiny and, amazingly, his own admissions.
First, the UK has a historic responsibility. According to Carbon Brief, the UK is the fifth largest historical emitter of CO₂ since the Industrial Revolution. We built an empire — and our wealth — on fossil fuels. To now shrug and say “it’s someone else’s problem” is not only morally bankrupt but also globally irresponsible.
Second, the UK is a climate leader — or at least it was. It was the first major economy to legally commit to net zero emissions by 2050. Since 1990, the UK has cut its emissions by nearly 50%, even as the economy grew. But Farage doesn’t mention that, because it undermines his narrative that green policies are economically ruinous.
The idea that climate action is a burden is also a myth. The green economy already supports over 400,000 jobs in the UK, with the potential for hundreds of thousands more in areas like renewable energy, home insulation, electric vehicles and clean tech. The International Energy Agency has made clear: delaying climate action costs far more in the long run than investing now.
But Farage isn’t interested in facts. He’s interested in fuelling resentment — telling working people that they’re being forced to pay for eco-fantasies dreamed up by “elites”. Never mind that the most vulnerable communities — often the same working-class voters he courts — are also the most exposed to the consequences of climate change, from energy insecurity to flooding and food price hikes.
Populism Over Principle
Farage doesn’t care about solutions. He doesn’t offer serious alternatives — just slogans. He doesn’t build; he dismantles. He doesn’t unite; he divides. And he has no consistent ideology beyond “whatever gets me on the telly this week”. One minute he’s railing against the Tories; the next he’s flirting with the Reform Party. He doesn’t need to believe what he says — he just needs you to believe it.
And people do — not because the facts are on his side, but because facts require thought, and Farage offers certainty. He makes people feel like victims, then sells them a villain. Immigrants. Climate activists. Brussels. Woke people. Pick your target.
But the real tragedy is this: while Farage rails against “foreigners stealing our jobs” and “climate lunacy”, the real sources of power and inequality — billionaire landlords, tax-dodging corporations, and fossil fuel giants — are left untouched. Farage never punches up. He always punches sideways.
The Real Enemy of the People
Farage may only be a marginal MP, but his influence has been corrosive. He helped drag Britain out of the EU on a campaign built on lies. He shifted the political centre of gravity towards nationalism and xenophobia. And he continues to undermine serious debate with cheap provocation.
But Farage’s success says as much about Britain as it does about him. He thrives in a culture that rewards spectacle over substance and outrage over understanding. He has one thing going for him — some people are still stupid enough to believe him. And it is going to get worse before the penny finally drops.
The rest of us should stop giving him airtime, start calling out his nonsense for what it is, and focus on building a country that deals in truth, not tabloid myths.
