Where was Nigel Farage’s outrage when the far right put my family in danger?
Farage has ‘never been angrier’ than when his daughter’s address was made public. But he and his followers have put many more at risk, writes Mothin Ali
When Nigel Farage announced that he was resigning as MP for Clacton so that he could run for election in the same seat again, it seemed to us at the Green Party like a wonderful opportunity to stand a candidate who was the very antithesis of everything the Reform UK leader stands for.
Farage is a private school boy, a posh banker and a notorious grifter who has used his position to enrich himself. People like him are the very reason that so many have lost faith in the political class, and he is now under investigation for financial gifts worth what is to most people an unimaginable amount. Ultimately, however, we took the lead from the local party, whose members were so revolted by the actions of Farage that they refused to give him any semblance of legitimacy by standing a candidate.
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Farage gave many justifications for the calling of this byelection, reframing the scrutiny he is receiving over his finances — including the £5m donation from Christopher Harborne and benefits he was given by convicted fraudster George Cottrell — as a pile-on by the establishment. We all know, though, that this clown show is simply an attempt to distract from the fact the parliamentary standards committee is investigating his behaviour.
But there was one point Farage made with which I can empathise.
He said he had “never been angrier” than he was over the Sunday Times’s publication of photographs of his property portfolio, which includes a house where his daughter lives — something he felt put her at risk. His anger here makes sense to me as a father. I have a daughter and I can understand how it would feel to have her wellbeing put at risk — because it happened.
Rioting took hold in Harehills, Leeds, where I live, in July 2024. In the aftermath, Farage — who was in the US at the time — tweeted that “the politics of the subcontinent are currently playing out on the streets of Leeds”. He saw what looked like brown faces on his TV screen and jumped straight to the wrong conclusions. His backup act Lee Anderson reiterated his sentiments.
I was one of the people whose faces Farage probably saw that night, because I was filmed trying to defuse the situation. False rumours about my actions on the night spread across the internet, accusing me of rioting, despite the fact I did everything I could to put out fires and bring an end to the violence. The truth did emerge later but the rumours had their effect.
In a climate where far-right figures, media influencers and ignorant politicians were spreading false narratives, I — like Farage’s daughter — was doxxed. My address was shared and people actually turned up at my home and slashed my tyres. My home is also where my daughter lives, so in effect my daughter was subjected to the same treatment. So when I say I can empathise with Farage, I mean it. I have every sympathy for him and his family.
Strangely, though, I don’t remember Farage expressing any concern for my, or my family’s, wellbeing — or any remorse for his role in fuelling the tensions that put us in danger.
And it’s not just my family. For years, Farage has built his career by demonising immigrants, by demonising refugees, by demonising Muslims. Hundreds of families have been doxxed by his supporters: we’ve seen regular protests outside so-called “migrant hotels” where many people’s daughters live. We’ve seen, in 2024, racist riots across the country. We’ve seen Farage call for “pure cold rage” following the conviction of Henry Nowak’s killer Vickrum Digwa, again sparking riots.
The decades-long demonisation of refugees, migrants and Muslims has threatened the safety of many hundreds of people, and their families, across our country. Farage’s lack of anger about any of this proves that his only genuine concern is that for once the system isn’t working in his favour.
Mothin Ali is co-deputy leader of the Green Party
