Farage misses budget over seat dispute, criticizes Ukraine aid

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was absent from the House of Commons for Chancellor John Healey’s first budget announcement on Tuesday, October 28.

Farage cited concerns about a physical altercation over seating arrangements as the primary reason for his absence. He stated that another member of parliament had removed a green paper slip, or prayer card, that was saving him a seat. Farage noted that a similar dispute turned physical during the state opening of parliament earlier in the session.

In a press conference following the budget, Farage explained that he decided to give parliament a wide berth to avoid conflict. He also mentioned that he reviewed the budget line by line with his office economists. A House of Commons spokesperson clarified that the prayer card was removed because it lacked a valid date stamp, in line with standard chamber protocol.

Farage expressed shock at the £10 billion allocated to support Ukraine. He stated that he was not opposed to the amount of aid provided he could be assured it would not be swallowed up by corruption or used to enrich Ukrainian officials. He described himself as more worried about Vladimir Putin’s rationality than at any previous point in the conflict.

The Reform leader criticized the increase in machine-games duty on gambling shops. He argued that the higher tax would harm the horse-racing industry and drive gambling activity offshore or into cryptocurrency. He also defended his party’s policy to cut capital gains tax on cryptocurrency, describing a 10% rate as a way to incentivize entry into a regulated industry.

Farage suggested that the small giveaways in Healey’s budget indicated a general election could occur in May next year. He stated that Reform would be prepared for an election as early as December. When asked to compare Healey’s budget to the 2022 budget under Liz Truss, Farage said he liked the top lines of the Truss plan but noted that it failed to cut spending radically.

In response to Tommy Robinson’s conviction for harassing journalists, Farage acknowledged that Robinson’s behavior had been very wrong. He added that Reform members who admired Robinson’s social media messages would not be penalized, stating that liking a message does not make them full-blown marchers in support of his cause.