Beth Rigby Interviews...Nigel Farage

new record net migration figures have provoked anger among some conservatives because of the failure to deliver on a key Manifesto pledge from the 2019 election there's also frustration from those outside the party who campaign for Britain to leave the EU among them Nigel farage former leader of the brexit party ukip and now a presenter on GB news he's conceded that brexit has failed so where did it all go wrong and did he and other politicians over promise on the benefits Nigel farage thank you so much for coming on the show today now you are the most famous advocate of brexit perhaps vying with Boris Johnson and you recently made a stark admission that brexit had failed do you want to apologize to voters for telling them that we should leave the EU if it was a failure well let's finish the sentence brexit has failed under the Tories yes I mean look in constitutional terms brexit is a success we've left the European Union we've reversed the status quo and the reason we won the referendum the reason the turnout was 10 higher than all the analysts thought it was going to be was this idea that the population explosion in Britain caused by immigration was diminishing people's quality of life and and frankly that is completely down to this government setting the level at which people can come for work permits basically at the level of minimum wage regulation immigration do you take any responsibility for some of the failures of brexit or some of the promises that were made in the campaign that were not realized any responsibility absolutely none no absolutely none I was very very clear very very clear this was about reducing numbers it was about moving to an Australian style point system where you set the barriers and you set the levels so that you get genuinely skilled migration and willfully Boris Johnson willfully lowered those salary levels and we've also seen this explosion of foreign students coming to Britain being allowed to bring dependents but the thing is when people think of brexit they do think of you and Boris Johnson because you made lots of promises as well in that campaign not really no no I I was the one making the least number of promises you said in June 2016 that um you could get migration to under 50 000. of course but I wasn't in charge look you know had we been a European country with proportion representation you know I would have been in a position of authority to work with government to try and achieve this as it is the irony was here's the irony the day after the referendum the very few very people I'd fought against for 25 years were still in power and so what you've got and even in 2019 you've got a government that was given an 80-seat majority but here's the key they never really believed in it okay well look you also made the promises to the British people about controlling borders laws having trade deals that U.S trade deal is nowhere to be seen none of it happened no I wonder why that is I wonder why that well I wonder why that is but does this make my question actually was does this make the public more cynical about politicians like you that promise these things that don't I don't do you reflect on that I can promise you if you look at the polling this week done by yougov I've got it here brexiteers that are disappointed I'm one of them you know I'm in that number 37 of brexit Voters are disappointed of that 37 75 percent lay it firmly and squarely at the door of this government let me put it another way then do you think the public might think twice about believing what you say next time no no but they might think twice about what the conservatives say next time and I think you know I think a lot of this is down to a breach of trust between what has been promised to voters and elections and what's being done and what would be your solution in the short term would you close off the borders and have worker shortages in the UK to in order to drive net migration down if that meant if that meant there was a realistic chance of people finding somewhere to live school for their kids to go to that was local people getting access to the National Health Service then yes of course so you would you would shut the borders I didn't say well you would you use the number of workers even if that meant shortages okay you cannot go on look before 2004 when this really kicked off right cabbages were not rotting in the fields of Lincolnshire elderly people were not being left alone in old people's homes we managed to do all of this and we've now become addicted to cheap unskilled foreign imported labor we have to reverse that process well let's talk about the execution because it seems to me that a lot of people see you as the biggest cheerleader of brexit it hasn't worked out in the way no that perhaps was promised to the British people it hasn't worked out the way it hasn't worked out in the way that I spent nearly 30 years captivating for but but you won't take responsibility for that but I wasn't getting the power I wasn't given the power so that it's not on me golf right I wasn't in a position so let's talk about the execution because let's try to get to the truth of this I think it's fascinating about how it could have gone better right because you think don't you that there was another way that brexit could have worked for Britain and it seems to me that your model would have been decisive political decision for the country to diverge from the EU slash taxes reduce regulation build a Singapore on Thames that that's what you wanted I never said I know I never quoted the Singapore on tennis but does anyone I do think I think so much of what we do as a government and what the European Union does as well is to meet the demands and needs of the lobby groups for giant companies there's a sector of our economy that has been left out of this debate completely self-employed small Traders those businesses they were the ones that voted brexit they were the ones that wanted an easing a lifting of the burdens and actually it's from those millions of people that you get genuine economic growth that's at the moment it seems that we're in the whilst of all worlds because we haven't taken the brexit opportunities perhaps that that you visit but but that did involve massive Divergence deregulation slashing taxes trying to make the UK economically competitive no we didn't need to slash taxes remember actually one of the few things that George Osborne got right is we did bring corporation tax down to a reasonable and competitive level we've now gone we we've now converged with France with our corporation tax rates and you know one of the worst things of all that's happened and this is not being spoken so you did want to cut Corporation taxes I want to leave it where it was we had a competitive corporation tax rate well we don't with Ireland we'd all no Ireland even more competitive and good for them all right but but the the short-term Necessities were not slashing taxes post-brexit the short-term Necessities were number one decisive political action triggering article 50 the day after the referendum had that been done the trade deal with America would have been concluded but because the conservative party yes of course there were some that campaigned for brexit but the party itself hated the brexit result we've had years of hesitancy and even when they seem to finally get the message they didn't get it they've never ever as a party have believed in this but this so what the PO it seems to me that your vision of a pace brexit Britain was almost the vision that Liz truss had a completely uh for driving the economy deregulating cutting taxes trying to compete with the EU trade helping the little people that was my agenda helping the little people I always fought for that I always stood for that and it has not happened I guess what I'm asking you what I'm trying to get to is whether the project was sold to the British people in a way that wasn't going to come to fruition and the actual real project was what I'm talking about the only way it would have worked well well I look I do think and you don't really talk to the British people about how it was going to work I talked to the British people about achieving Independence all right and and there were two areas I repeat this there were two areas that I thought were easily deliverable the first was reducing this massive population increase into our country and the second was to lift some of the burdens off the backs of ordinary men and women going out there trying to earn a living they were the two two and you know something they were realistic expectations of those that voted brexit and they haven't happened and I mean frankly frankly I look at that I look at that 2019 story Manifesto the way it was put to the people and frankly it was a big lie isn't partly the truth of net migration that for economic growth you need a level of net migration oh listen I've been hearing this for a quarter of a century all right you know you know if increasing the British population by 8 million people has added you know a few Pips here and there a few decimal points here and there to GDP so blooming what there is something that is far more important than the size of our GDP there is something actually called Community there is something called quality of life in this country and these are things these are things that virtually nobody in Westminster even talks about but they are very keenly felt outside the M25 but you made it sound so simple in that referendum campaign and it wasn't simple was it it was never going to be simple like it was going to be a simple thing to do well what you do it was never going to be simple on the morning of the 24th of June 2016 you trigger article 50 you begin the process no one's saying it was going to be simple but we made it very very difficult because we had a government full of remainers who didn't believe in it and I am I mean to be honest with you there's nobody more disappointed than me in what this government's done I'm furious I would have loved to have been in a position of responsibility but I wasn't but you promise things as well in that referendum that you could never deliver I think you'll find Boris Johnson and others were the ones making you you said you could get I I was looking to ask from June before the vote June 2016 you said we can get net migration down to 50 000. yes of course now whether you want it's a good name Boris Johnson of course we'll look at that and say this I believe this guy yes I believe this guy yes I voted for it because of this guy we could have got it down and this guy let me down this guy didn't come with the trees I wasn't if you put if they put me in charge of it would have got to 30 000 a year no question about it but they didn't and so the problem we've got now is I I you know I said brexit I said 10 years ago I wanted to cause an earthquake in British politics all right well we got the earthquake we're still suffering the aftershocks and we're all living with the fractures well we're suffering the aftershocks because yes because Parliament and the government have ignored the will of the people they've ignored what was said in that brexit referendum and so now a bigger question emerges as to how we're going to change politics in this country ever look at it though and think uh I I promise things to the British people that I as a politician didn't know if I could deliver I feel some responsibility no because they're going wrong no because they were never your fault they were all no they were all deliverable that's the point it wasn't difficult to do that's the point maybe they weren't as deliverable as you made out as them to be for example with net migration and it's awesome to Simply you think if I'd been in charge would have allowed foreign students to bring dependents in do you think if I was in charge we'd have set you know a level when minimum wage levels break down the migration Figures it's not just foreign students it's also worker visas for shortages in the economy it's Ukrainian Refuge level but there's a number of proponents in those net migration figures some of which you need to pick yes at the level of minimum wage that was not the promise that was not the deal so we are where we are and when it comes to you and and the Reform Party of which you're the president yeah um they did terribly in the local elections so what does that tell you about your repeal ability now with the public nearly four or five percent of seats so it's very difficult to judge whether they did well badly to be honest um and you know building up a national party political structure is not an easy thing to do but I think the gap between Westminster and where people are is even bigger than it was 10 years ago I think there will be another Insurgency in British politics whether it'll so whether it'll be reform whether it'll be me whether we get a new Nick Griffin I trust you you made all these promises and I don't I don't think do you not think that you might be a busted flush on that as I said to you if you take the Hugo polling this week of the 37 that are disappointed by brexit 75 percent of them fairly unsquarely at the doors of the conservative party they're certainly not laying it at my door and and if it's not me and not reform then maybe we get a Nick Griffin type figure maybe we get genuinely the far right into British politics something is going to change this Gap is too big do you genuinely think that you could come back now and run a campaign as the guy that's going to deliver a true brexit given what's passed oh I think if I stood again it would be a much more revolutionary agenda than just brexit it would be fundamental change to the voting system do something people might be watching this people that listen to you and what you promised in 2016 about how the country would change after brexit and what has come to pass and think I don't trust a thing this guy I think no I think I think they'll share my disappointment okay final question will I see you back in Frontline politics then in the next five years I don't know I genuinely don't know I haven't ruled it out I haven't ruled him in if I could see by doing it there was a really clear achievable goal that I might well I haven't worked that out yet if we had if we had a form an electoral system that was representative in some way well then it would be much easier you you you brought brexit to Britain and where you were the chief cheerleader now brexit's in crisis and your message to the British public is it wasn't my fault absolutely we've been let down very badly by an entirely dishonest establishment globalist and now remain notorious some voters might look at and think you were dishonest when you were promising stuff that you could never deliver you know what I might have got things right I might have got things wrong over my years in politics I would like to think hand on heart I was never dishonest okay Nigel farage thank you so much

Channel: Sky News

Views: 96,652

Keywords: nigel farage, nigel farage brexit, brexit, nigel farage brexit party, nigel farage brexit eu, nigel farage brexit night, brexit news, brexit nigel farage, nigel farage brexit nhs, nigel farage brexit 2016, nigel farage brexit 2023, nigel farage brexit deal, nigel farage brexit speech, nigel farage brexit failure, brexit party nigel farage, nigel farage brexit party speech, nigel farage entrevista brexit, nigel farage european parliament, farage brexit, beth rigby

Id: 4iJA0AHSKFY

Length: 15min 34sec (934 seconds)

Published: Thu May 25 2023