UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Reform UK faces backlash after activists portrayed female ministers as cows in an abattoir, with Labour and Lib Dems condemning it as misogynistic and dangerous.
As reported by The Independent, Labour has urged Nigel Farage to respond after a Reform UK election stunt depicted female cabinet ministers as cows in an abattoir scene.
Which female ministers were depicted in Reform’s cow stunt?
The cabinet ministers depicted in the stunt:
- Angela Rayner – Deputy Prime Minister
- Rachel Reeves – Chancellor
- Bridget Phillipson – Education Secretary
- Stephen Timms – Minister of State
What did Labour say about the Reform UK stunt?
A Labour spokesperson stated,
“This is a dehumanising and misogynistic portrayal of hardworking female Cabinet members who are delivering change for our country on behalf of the British people.
They added,
“If Nigel Farage wants his party to be in any way seen as remotely professional, he should start by condemning this ‘stunt’ and confirming nothing like this will happen again.”
What did the Lib Dems say about the abattoir stunt?
A Lib Dem spokesperson said,
“This is horrifically misogynistic and after seeing politicians murdered in recent years, inferring that some should also be sent to an abattoir cannot be dressed up as anything other than an attack on democracy.”
They added,
“Nigel Farage needs to step in and launch a full investigation and anyone associated with this vile stunt must be expelled from Reform.”
Misogynistic Reform display
An image captured by a passerby has been widely condemned as a “dehumanising” and “misogynistic” stunt.
Westminster parties were left disturbed, as MPs including Mr Farage adopted increased security protocols amid rising safety concerns.
The slaughterhouse imagery has reignited memories of past assaults on MPs, including the killing of Labour’s Jo Cox and Tory MP Sir David Amess.
The stunt displayed Reform posters during a tough campaign, in which the party won 677 council seats and two mayoralties across the UK.
What did Nigel Farage say about the Reform election stunt?
Initially, Reform refrained from responding on the matter, but speaking at a press conference, Mr Farage said,
All sorts of appalling things get said and done by people fighting in elections, at local and national level, and we get it done to us.”
He said,
“If one or two of our people do it to them, maybe they think it’s funny. It probably isn’t very funny. I can’t pretend we’re perfect. What I can tell you is that one of how we have professionalised this party is to put people through a vetting process. And I think we’ve come up with a slate of elected councillors and mayors and a new MP that we can genuinely be very proud of,”
adding,
“If there is the odd lapse in taste, then I regret it, but it’s kind of called politics.”
Reform leader avoided stating whether the image was
“misogynistic to depict female cabinet ministers as cows, and is it appropriate to suggest that they’re going to be sent to the abattoir if MPs have been killed in recent years?
What did Nigel Farage say about the recent EU deal and the Chagos Islands?
Reform leader Nigel Farage slammed the latest EU deal, describing it as a “complete betrayal,” and accused Keir Starmer of breaking his promise not to pursue such an agreement.
He called the Chagos Islands agreement “the worst deal I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Mr Farage said,
“It’s almost unbelievable that he could have done it and not to have even referred to the Chagossian people, who have suffered terrible racism in Mauritius, terrible racism. And now that this deal is done, they’re now fleeing Mauritius and coming to our country, which they can do, of course, because they are British subjects.”
He added,
“But I suppose to Keir Starmer, racism only comes from people without university degrees. He probably doesn’t think it happens between other races.”