Newly-crowned Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had a milkshake thrown at him today after he kicked off his general election campaign in Clacton-on-Sea.
The incident came after Mr Farage promised to be a “bloody nuisance” in Westminster. A 25 year-old woman has been arrested.
During his campaign launch, the former Ukip leader set out his goal for Reform UK to effectively take over the Conservative Party – and potentially put him in No 10 in future. On Tuesday he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain his goal was to take the party over rather than join it.
In his first major public speech since announcing his candidacy he addressed a crowd of hundreds at Clacton Pier. Shouts from the crowd included “get ‘em Nige” and “we love you Nigel”. He told those gathered: “Send me to Parliament to be a bloody nuisance.”
But Mr Farage did not have to go to Westminster to stir up chaos, as his supporters clashed with protestors over a sign that said: “Farage not welcome in Clacton”.
Breaking: Two people arrested after milkshake thrown over Nigel Farage as he launched general election campaign
Essex Police investigating the incident said they had arrested a 25-year-old woman, from Clacton, at the scene on suspicion of assault on Tuesday.
While officers were responding and making this arrest, a second individual, a man, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, said the force. Both individuals remain in custody for questioning.
Farage: ‘I’ll make sure Starmer doesn’t shift the UK closer to the EU’
Nigel Farage said he would make sure Sir Keir Starmer does not shift the UK closer to the European Union, if he is elected as an MP.
The Reform UK leader said: “Brexit destroyed Labour, it split Labour very, very badly.
“I’m going to be there, as a voice, making sure that Starmer doesn’t take us closer back to the European Union.”
Mr Farage also said it was “entirely possible” to reduce net migration to zero which “still leaves lots of room for special skills where we may have a shortage”.
Reform UK leader would be ‘champion’ for Clacton
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he would be a “champion” for Clacton, which he described as a “forgotten, end-of-the-line town”.
Speaking from the Moon and Starfish pub in the Essex town, he said: “I had to decide, do I want to stand as a Member of Parliament and spend every Friday working in Clacton? Huge decision for me, huge decision for me, I’ve decided, I do.”
He added: “I’ll be here as many Fridays as I can, of course I will. My message to the people of Clacton is, ‘these people here supported me in Ukip and the local MP at the time, Douglas Carswell’.
“They supported me hugely in the Brexit referendum campaign, and they want someone to stand up for their beliefs, and they don’t see that in today’s Conservative Party, they certainly don’t see that in today’s Labour Party.
“I will be their champion on the national issues and on the local issues, having a national figure representing a forgotten, end-of-the-line town, who knows I may well be able to bring some investment and do some good.”
Farage vows to replace the Tories as he launches his revolution
Nigel Farage launched his eighth bid to become an MP today with a promise that he plans to replace the Conservative Party in a revolution which will shake British politics.
The Reform UK leader launched his bid to get into parliament in front of cheering crowds on Clacton pier on the Essex coast declaring it to be “a revolution to change British politics”.
The event open to the ordinary members of the public, who attended in their hundreds crowding into the street, and lining footbridges and slopes around the launch, contrasted hugely with the stage managed events of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
David Maddox reports:
Milkshake thrower could have been lying in wait for Farage for an hour, suggests Wetherspoons staff
A member of staff at the Wetherspoons where Nigel Farage just had a milkshake hurled at him has suggested the thrower could have been lying in wait for the politician to arrive for an hour, Tara Cobham reports.
The Moon & Starfish worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Independent three police officers had just come into the pub looking for the mystery woman who threw what is believed to be a banana flavoured milkshake.
He said: “She was sat outside by one of the pillars for about an hour beforehand.”
When asked if he was implying that the throw was premeditated, the Wetherspoons staff member replied: “I believe so.”
While he wasn’t close to the Reform UK leader at the time, from afar, he said: “I saw liquid fly through the air and hit a few customers.”
‘We will not be bullied’: Richard Tice responds to milkshake thrown at Farage
Richard Tice, Nigel Farage’s predecessor as Reform UK leader, said: “The juvenile moron who threw a drink over Nigel has just gained us hundreds of thousands more votes.
“We will not be bullied or threatened off the campaign trail.”
Nigel Farage’s wild plans for the Conservative Party are doomed
The Reform UK leader’s return to frontline politics is less about influencing the general election than it is about reshaping the Tories in opposition – and steering them to the right. But, says John Rentoul, here’s why he will fail:
Nigel Farage has lost none of his skill in the art of politics as drama. Had he been leader of Reform UK at the time the general election was called, announcing sooner that he would be a candidate in Clacton, by now he would be struggling to persuade journalists to come to his news conferences.
Read more here:
Moment a milkshake is thrown at Nigel Farage as he leaves Clacton pub
This video captures a girl throwing a drink at Nigel Farage as he leaves the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton-on-Sea this afternoon.
Milkshake in question banana-flavoured
The milkshake thrown in the face of the new Reform UK leader appears to be banana-flavoured.
The drink was launched at him as he left the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton.
Milkshake thrown in Farage’s face in Clacton
Nigel Farage was hit in the face with a cup of milkshake today during his campaign launch in Clacton-on-Sea.
