Nigel Farage, Leader of Reform UK speaks as he is interviewed on stage at the ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) conference in London, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. Nigel Farage has called on Brits to have more children – and “more optimism”.
Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference, the Reform UK leader was interviewed by self-help author Jordan Peterson, about family values.
While the twice-divorced politician admitted he “may not necessarily be the best advocate for monogamous heterosexuality or stable marriage”, he said “family community and country” are at the heart of what he does.
The MP for Clacton said: “I have tried, in difficult circumstances, to make sure with both ex-wives that our children have had a stable upbringing, given the circumstances, as they can possibly have.
“We’ve kind of forgotten that what underpins everything is our Judeo-Christian culture, and that’s where we need to start.”
He added: “Of course we need higher birth rates, but we’re not going to get higher birth rates in this country until we can get some sense of optimism. And we need a complete 180-shift in attitudes.”
“We’ve got to start telling young kids that hard work is good, that success is good, that there are no shortcuts in life, that making money is good,” he said.
Farage then launched an attack on Labour, saying: “God, doesn’t Rachel Reeves just make you want to reach for the tissues? I mean, it’s all so miserable. It’s also declinist. Frankly, the Conservatives have been no better.
“We need a change of attitude in Britain, and we get that.”
The Reform UK leader also rejected Peterson’s claim that rightwing is split in the UK.
He said: “The right is not split in this country. The Conservative Party is not on the right in any measurable way.”
Farage pointed to the Tories’ approach to taxes and immigration, saying: “Fourteen years that caused the highest tax burden since 1947. Fourteen years that saw mass immigration – legal mass immigration – on a scale hitherto never even dreamed of.”
The Clacton MP attacked the Tories’ approach to net zero too, saying Boris Johnson and Theresa May were “as evangelical about net zero as the current [energy secretary] Ed Miliband.”
