UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Nigel Farage faces scrutiny over Chris Parry as Reform UK mayoral candidate following offensive remarks about Deputy PM David Lammy.
According to David Maddox of The Independent, Nigel Farage faces calls to drop Reform UK’s Hampshire mayoral candidate, a former Royal Navy rear admiral, after he doubled down on remarks about Justice Secretary David Lammy.
How did Chris Parry defend controversial comments on David Lammy?
Nigel Farage continues to back Chris Parry, 72, after the former Royal Navy rear admiral suggested Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, London-born, should “go home,” questioning his “loyalties.”
After facing widespread backlash, Mr. Parry defended his original statement on social media, saying, “Well, home is where the heart is. That’s the point.”
Mr Parry also attacked Sir Lenny Henry after the comedian supported calls for the UK to pay £19 trillion in slavery reparations.
He said,
“Where does his primary loyalty lie?”
In March, Mr Parry also described Birmingham as “a failed colony” in a tweet.
Responding to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer convening an emergency COBRA meeting on the Birmingham bin strikes, he said,
“Stupid and unnecessarily diluting importance of COBRA. Just take this failed colony into special measures.”
The ex-Royal Navy rear admiral called four female colleagues “harpies” and predicted Parliament could have a significant number of Muslim MPs by 2035.
What did Anna Turley say about Chris Parry?
Labour chair Anna Turley said Nigel Farage may remove the candidate for the delayed Hampshire mayoral election in 2028.
She said,
“How big does the mountain of racist and grossly offensive comments Chris Parry has made have to get before Nigel Farage throws him out of Reform? It’s disgraceful.”
Ms Turley added,
“Farage’s refusal to take action against racism in his party shows what a dark place he’s dragging politics to. He should finally drop Chris Parry as a candidate, kick him out of his Party, and apologise for failing to take action sooner.”
The revelations come as Mr Farage faces accusations of racist behavior during his school days, including reportedly saying “Hitler was right” and mimicking gas chambers.
In response to the claims, he said he had never acted with racist intent and used a BBC briefing to discuss 1970s comedian Bernard Manning.
The controversy surrounding Mr Lammy continued as Ian Cooper, Reform UK’s council leader in Staffordshire, stated that
“no foreign national or first-generation migrant should be allowed to sit in Parliament.”
Mr Cooper has been expelled from Reform UK, but Mr Parry remains the party’s candidate in Hampshire.
Another Reform councillor, Chris Large, has rejected backing remarks calling Mr Lammy “just another greedy none thoroughbred.”
Mr Lammy hit back at the comments and issued a personal challenge to Reform leader,
“I will never be cowed by racism. But I will call it what it is. Nigel Farage, you need to clean up your party and stamp out this 1950s-style hate.”
What did Nigel Farage’s former school friends say about his alleged racist behaviour?
Nigel Farage’s ex-school friend, Jean-Pierre Lihou, said Mr Farage chanted “Oswald Mosley” and praised Hitler at school. He added that the Reform leader sang a song with antisemitic and racist lyrics aimed at classmates.
Another former classmate, Peter Ettedgui, said Mr Farage growled, “Hitler was right” and mimicked the gas chamber hissing.
One of his fellow pupils, Martin Rosell, said Mr Farage repeatedly made racist remarks to Jewish classmates.
Why was the Hampshire mayoral election delayed?
The Hampshire mayoral election, originally scheduled for May 2026, has been postponed until May 2028. The argument for the postponement is to allow more time to complete the complex process of local government reorganisation.
The government explained that the delay is necessary to ensure “strong unitary structures” are firmly in place before the new mayor takes office and assumes their powers.
Another reason for the delay is to avoid the cost of electing councillors for a very short term before the new unitary authorities take over in April 2028.
