Why don't we get real about Farage. Horrible background, money orientated, horrible career when an MEP-, lazy did nothing except be rude and disruptive, couldn't cope with women let alone migrants, and what about his funding? If UK people vote for him they are supporting basic corruption.
Nigel Farage looking at Glasgow’s schools and deciding the problem is “too many bilingual children” is one of the great self-owns of modern politics. The stat he used is technically true, just like “Nigel Farage once went to Dulwich and worked in the City” is technically true, yet nobody seems to be organising a national vigil over those facts.
He takes a perfectly ordinary figure, neatly skips the part where most of those kids are fluent, better behaved, turn up more, and outperform their English-only classmates, then sells it as civilisation in decline. It is less “brave truth-teller” and more “man who walks into a library and complains the books are too literate.”
And funny thing, for someone suddenly very concerned about language in schools, he was, according to several former classmates, allegedly more of a racist wordsmith than a bilingual scholar.
Curious how that bit never makes it into his educational commentary.
A millionaire from the Home Counties touring Scotland to warn Glaswegians about their own children remains one of the great casting choices of our time.
Anyway, I’m off to buy a house. Or rather, we are. Actually no, wait, apparently she is. Easy mistake.
There is a reason why, if you have to give evidence in court, you have to swear to tell "the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth"; it's because you can impart a falsehood if you leave something out or embellish it with irrelevance. Farage knows this better than most.
One wonders why the 'independent media' does not add the context when reporting Farage's comments; it cannot be tht difficult to say 'and the report also showed that....'
Really good points. I spend an awful lot of time debunking Farage and Right Wing media claims and whenever there is a number or stat involved it is invariably a “true” and officially sourced one.
It is the narrative they spin from that number that is the misinformation - ignoring base rates, using the stat out of context, misrepresenting what it refers to etc. They can always point to a source. Our job is to add in vital context- and that’s so much harder than if they just completely made shit up!
Thank you for this splendid explanation of Reform’s tactics I hope more people take the time to read and understand, I shall endeavour to be more inquisitive myself in future.
Farage successfully sold us a lie : The EU is the source of all our problems; leave the EU and the Golden Age will return. We voted for Brexit, and Farage disappeared. Now he is back, he has to find another scapegoat : Immigration is the source of all our problems; stop immigration and all will be well. But this time he might just find himself accountable. What's the betting that if Reform ever get to form a government, he will disappear again, and leave his cronies to pick up the pieces ? Farage enjoys the thrill of disruption, but has no stamina for dealing with the reality of power.
Oldies but Goodies ! Another paradox is that even if Reform is voted in, Farage may well find himself voted out as MP for Clacton, as he is almost never there. The good people of Clacton my well decide that they would rather have an MP who actually represents them, rather than a flaky figurehead of a dodgy government with only one policy. But there again, you can fool some of the people some of the time.
In the context of context, you might want to mention that the study was of 700,000 pupils, so the 1400 Gaelic speakers that you mention is roughly 0%. Yes, Farage is a duplicitous barstard, but maybe it's better not to lace an essay about context with potentially misleading redherrings.
An excellent article with very many good points already made below. This populist movement, drawing on lies, distortion and prejudice, stoking fear, is seriously dangerous to our social fabric, well being and democracy. Really good that Ugly Politix and others are standing up to be counted. This action needs to grow!
Farage is undoubtedly clever, but cleverness takes different forms, including cunning and deviousness. Unfortunately, like his hero Trump, he is extremely good at staying in the political limelight and framing his soundbites to hit just the right spot. Of course his rhetoric would not stand up to intelectual scrutiny, but his target audience are not likely to subject him to that. Scapegoating is a familiar tool in the hands of would-be dictators and the populace falls for it again and again. The only weapon we have against this is education. Just as we are all now learning how to detect and avoid scams, we need to take a similar approach to politics and politicians. As a retired teacher, I have been of the opinion for many years that the way we teach history, especially in primary schools, does not help develop critical thinking and prepare our young people for the decisions they will have to make, especially as they are now able to vote from the age of sixteen.
I also am a retired teacher. I can look back at some of my pupils and am horrified at the thought that they have the vote. I rather suspect how they may choose!
"take real data, remove context, add inflammatory framing, deploy at a moment of maximum political utility, and let the outrage - both supportive and hostile - do the distribution work for you. The mainstream media, compelled to cover “the controversy,” completes the amplification cycle.
This is what political communication looks like in an environment where algorithms reward engagement over accuracy, and where engagement correlates reliably with emotional intensity. Farage didn’t invent these dynamics. He simply understood them before most of his opponents and learned to exploit them ruthlessly."
How do we individually and as a society counter this. 8sec attention span does not suit rational detail explanations, yet that is what we must address. We have to turn it as a joke against him. How about "1 in 3 of school population out perform 96% of the remainder English first pupils. Check that out Farage"
All 4 of ours are growing up bilingual. I think, personally, this is fantastic. I’m not sure what you would say their first language is as I talk to them in German and husband talks to them in American accented English. Only a massive racist like Farage could manage to turn this into something wrong. The trouble is, his fans just believe everything he says and don’t do any research into its accuracy. Oh, and our oldest speak English better than their English classmates, so take that Farage.
Why don't we get real about Farage. Horrible background, money orientated, horrible career when an MEP-, lazy did nothing except be rude and disruptive, couldn't cope with women let alone migrants, and what about his funding? If UK people vote for him they are supporting basic corruption.
Thanks for the article U.P
Nigel Farage looking at Glasgow’s schools and deciding the problem is “too many bilingual children” is one of the great self-owns of modern politics. The stat he used is technically true, just like “Nigel Farage once went to Dulwich and worked in the City” is technically true, yet nobody seems to be organising a national vigil over those facts.
He takes a perfectly ordinary figure, neatly skips the part where most of those kids are fluent, better behaved, turn up more, and outperform their English-only classmates, then sells it as civilisation in decline. It is less “brave truth-teller” and more “man who walks into a library and complains the books are too literate.”
And funny thing, for someone suddenly very concerned about language in schools, he was, according to several former classmates, allegedly more of a racist wordsmith than a bilingual scholar.
Curious how that bit never makes it into his educational commentary.
A millionaire from the Home Counties touring Scotland to warn Glaswegians about their own children remains one of the great casting choices of our time.
Anyway, I’m off to buy a house. Or rather, we are. Actually no, wait, apparently she is. Easy mistake.
A good article which, sadly for Farage explains data correctly.
There is a reason why, if you have to give evidence in court, you have to swear to tell "the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth"; it's because you can impart a falsehood if you leave something out or embellish it with irrelevance. Farage knows this better than most.
One wonders why the 'independent media' does not add the context when reporting Farage's comments; it cannot be tht difficult to say 'and the report also showed that....'
Really good points. I spend an awful lot of time debunking Farage and Right Wing media claims and whenever there is a number or stat involved it is invariably a “true” and officially sourced one.
It is the narrative they spin from that number that is the misinformation - ignoring base rates, using the stat out of context, misrepresenting what it refers to etc. They can always point to a source. Our job is to add in vital context- and that’s so much harder than if they just completely made shit up!
Just briefly, a very well written article and Farage is dangerous and I wish people out there would see Farage for who he is.
Thank you for this splendid explanation of Reform’s tactics I hope more people take the time to read and understand, I shall endeavour to be more inquisitive myself in future.
Farage successfully sold us a lie : The EU is the source of all our problems; leave the EU and the Golden Age will return. We voted for Brexit, and Farage disappeared. Now he is back, he has to find another scapegoat : Immigration is the source of all our problems; stop immigration and all will be well. But this time he might just find himself accountable. What's the betting that if Reform ever get to form a government, he will disappear again, and leave his cronies to pick up the pieces ? Farage enjoys the thrill of disruption, but has no stamina for dealing with the reality of power.
I completely agree. We were 2 of the "oldies "who voted to remain in the EU and still would
Oldies but Goodies ! Another paradox is that even if Reform is voted in, Farage may well find himself voted out as MP for Clacton, as he is almost never there. The good people of Clacton my well decide that they would rather have an MP who actually represents them, rather than a flaky figurehead of a dodgy government with only one policy. But there again, you can fool some of the people some of the time.
Fromage 💩 Farage 🤥 is full of 💩 & a Tory scam artist 🤑 in a different suit & this joke union is DONE 📉🇬🇧.
Independent Scotland 🏴 & Trident Free ☮️
In the context of context, you might want to mention that the study was of 700,000 pupils, so the 1400 Gaelic speakers that you mention is roughly 0%. Yes, Farage is a duplicitous barstard, but maybe it's better not to lace an essay about context with potentially misleading redherrings.
An excellent article with very many good points already made below. This populist movement, drawing on lies, distortion and prejudice, stoking fear, is seriously dangerous to our social fabric, well being and democracy. Really good that Ugly Politix and others are standing up to be counted. This action needs to grow!
Interesting article contextualising NF's inflammatory rhetoric as well as his tactics in trying to deflect attention from his own dirty deeds....
Farage is undoubtedly clever, but cleverness takes different forms, including cunning and deviousness. Unfortunately, like his hero Trump, he is extremely good at staying in the political limelight and framing his soundbites to hit just the right spot. Of course his rhetoric would not stand up to intelectual scrutiny, but his target audience are not likely to subject him to that. Scapegoating is a familiar tool in the hands of would-be dictators and the populace falls for it again and again. The only weapon we have against this is education. Just as we are all now learning how to detect and avoid scams, we need to take a similar approach to politics and politicians. As a retired teacher, I have been of the opinion for many years that the way we teach history, especially in primary schools, does not help develop critical thinking and prepare our young people for the decisions they will have to make, especially as they are now able to vote from the age of sixteen.
I also am a retired teacher. I can look back at some of my pupils and am horrified at the thought that they have the vote. I rather suspect how they may choose!
the key part of this for all of us is:
"take real data, remove context, add inflammatory framing, deploy at a moment of maximum political utility, and let the outrage - both supportive and hostile - do the distribution work for you. The mainstream media, compelled to cover “the controversy,” completes the amplification cycle.
This is what political communication looks like in an environment where algorithms reward engagement over accuracy, and where engagement correlates reliably with emotional intensity. Farage didn’t invent these dynamics. He simply understood them before most of his opponents and learned to exploit them ruthlessly."
How do we individually and as a society counter this. 8sec attention span does not suit rational detail explanations, yet that is what we must address. We have to turn it as a joke against him. How about "1 in 3 of school population out perform 96% of the remainder English first pupils. Check that out Farage"
All 4 of ours are growing up bilingual. I think, personally, this is fantastic. I’m not sure what you would say their first language is as I talk to them in German and husband talks to them in American accented English. Only a massive racist like Farage could manage to turn this into something wrong. The trouble is, his fans just believe everything he says and don’t do any research into its accuracy. Oh, and our oldest speak English better than their English classmates, so take that Farage.
How lucky are your children
Being bi lingual is wonderful.