OPINION
Nigel Farage is right (Image: PA)
I can’t stand Nigel Farage… but he is right about one thing. In fact, rather like a broken clock is right twice a day, he’s actually right about two things. Firstly, though he hardly ever mentions it these days now Reform’s riding high in the polls and he thinks his rabble might get a majority under first past the post, Reform’s official policy is to back a fairer, more proportional voting system for Westminster elections, something which has been Lib Dem policy for a century. But that’s not what I’m writing about today, you’ll no doubt be very pleased to hear.
So, before turning to the single other issue I have at least a level of agreement with Nigel Farage on, let me just stress just how much I think he’s been one of the most destructive and divisive figures in British political history. From Brexit to immigration and from the NHS (which I strongly believe he’d privatise in a heartbeat if he got the chance) to banning Pride flags from the council buildings Reform now controls, my liberal politics couldn’t be any more opposed to his populist politics if I tried… and believe me I have.
Article continues belowADVERTISEMENT
Undo
DON'T MISS
Powered by
Should Starmer call an immediate general election? Vote here
Keir Starmer issues statement as 700k call for immediate general election
Angela Rayner's plan for votes at 16 rejected by most Brits
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as half of Labour supporters say his government is failing
Disaster for Keir Starmer as tens of thousands demand general election now in new petition
Sky News interrupted for Nigel Farage 'breaking news' as Keir Starmer dealt crushing blow
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Labour accused of throwing veterans 'under the double decker bus in favour of the IRA'
BBC Breakfast has Labour minister squirming in agonising migrant car crash
Nigel Farage row explodes on GB News as Reform MP rages 'I ask the questions!'
Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside ￡500m to close asylum hotels
I went to a migrant hotel protest - one thing left me feeling completely hopeless
Nicola Sturgeon admits she could fall for a woman in latest revelation
Keir Starmer likes talking tough on economy - so how can he justify this area of spending?
Should Starmer call an immediate general election? Vote here
Keir Starmer issues statement as 700k call for immediate general election
Angela Rayner's plan for votes at 16 rejected by most Brits
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as half of Labour supporters say his government is failing
Disaster for Keir Starmer as tens of thousands demand general election now in new petition
Sky News interrupted for Nigel Farage 'breaking news' as Keir Starmer dealt crushing blow
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Labour accused of throwing veterans 'under the double decker bus in favour of the IRA'
BBC Breakfast has Labour minister squirming in agonising migrant car crash
Nigel Farage row explodes on GB News as Reform MP rages 'I ask the questions!'
Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside ￡500m to close asylum hotels
I went to a migrant hotel protest - one thing left me feeling completely hopeless
Nicola Sturgeon admits she could fall for a woman in latest revelation
Keir Starmer likes talking tough on economy - so how can he justify this area of spending?
Should Starmer call an immediate general election? Vote here
Keir Starmer issues statement as 700k call for immediate general election
Angela Rayner's plan for votes at 16 rejected by most Brits
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as half of Labour supporters say his government is failing
Disaster for Keir Starmer as tens of thousands demand general election now in new petition
Sky News interrupted for Nigel Farage 'breaking news' as Keir Starmer dealt crushing blow
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Labour accused of throwing veterans 'under the double decker bus in favour of the IRA'
BBC Breakfast has Labour minister squirming in agonising migrant car crash
Nigel Farage row explodes on GB News as Reform MP rages 'I ask the questions!'
Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside ￡500m to close asylum hotels
I went to a migrant hotel protest - one thing left me feeling completely hopeless
Nicola Sturgeon admits she could fall for a woman in latest revelation
Keir Starmer likes talking tough on economy - so how can he justify this area of spending?
Read more: Reform secure major milestone after three new by-election victories
Read more: Reform civil war erupts as Nigel Farage suffers 'Nicola Sturgeon moment'
Get the latest politics news straight to your phone Join us on WhatsAppOur community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Which means I’m very surprised indeed to be writing, and in the Daily Express no less, about an issue in which I agree with Mr Farage much more than I agree with the supposedly much more moderate Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. So what issue do I refer to?
Powered By
10 Sec
Inside the Omaze ￡2.5 million New Forest house
Next
Stay
Our mutual opposition to the Online Safety Act (OSA), at least in its present form. Now let me say straight off, of course we need to do all that we can to ensure children are protected from genuinely harmful content (though you might think parents and guardians have a bigger role in ensuring this than does the state) but however well-intentioned the OSA may be, we’ve seemingly ended up in the bizarre situation where certain Wikipedia articles and even some MPs speeches are being blocked for young internet users.
Sponsored
Learn More
Walmart Shoppers Say This $99 Hearing Aid Changed Their Life
Undo
This is using a bulldozer to crack a nut. It’s an overweening, overpowerful, nanny-state restriction of the civil liberties of our youngest citizens to, with the supervision of responsible parents/guardians, engage with potentially conflicting ideas, thoughts, and worldviews and begin to learn what they believe.
The battle of ideas is the very basis of our democracy. And, indeed, in perhaps the biggest irony of all, it is this Labour Government that is legislating to extend the franchise and give 16-year-olds the vote, a move myself and the Lib Dems have been campaigning to achieve for many years.
So, on the one hand Labour wants to empower young people but on the other it doesn’t trust them and those who care for them to access competing political ideas and then be able to make up their own minds about what they think.
As we’ve learnt to expect from this Labour administration, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. And this is far from the only problem with this legislation.
As Lib Dem group Liberal Reform has pointed out, these laws could in fact see children placed in more danger if they use VPNs to get around age verification.
Liberal Reform says: "However VPNs are often closely tied to the dark web meaning that children (may) work around the ban and (potentially) access even more extreme material."
So Nigel Farage is right when he calls this government over-reach and says that “it begins to look as though State suppression of genuine free speech may be upon us already.”
In case you think this is all Labour, by the way, a timely reminder that the Act was actually phased in under the Conservatives in 2023 and is now coming in to full effect.
Tech companies should, of course, do all they can to protect children from genuinely harmful content but that must not include diminishing a genuine battle of ideas, of conflicting worldviews, and political positions. I’m not a free speech absolutist.
We all, quite rightly, live within the boundaries of the law and also of social norms, and there’s certainly no free speech without potential consequence if those boundaries are crossed.
DON'T MISS
Powered by
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Labour accused of throwing veterans 'under the double decker bus in favour of the IRA'
BBC Breakfast has Labour minister squirming in agonising migrant car crash
Nigel Farage row explodes on GB News as Reform MP rages 'I ask the questions!'
Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside ￡500m to close asylum hotels
I went to a migrant hotel protest - one thing left me feeling completely hopeless
Nicola Sturgeon admits she could fall for a woman in latest revelation
Keir Starmer likes talking tough on economy - so how can he justify this area of spending?
Two extra cameras would cover a lot more ground.ADT |
Shop Now
Undo
Should Starmer call an immediate general election? Vote here
Keir Starmer issues statement as 700k call for immediate general election
THIS 5 Min Quiz Tells You What Your Body Actually Needs To Lose WeightNoom |
Learn More
Undo
Angela Rayner's plan for votes at 16 rejected by most Brits
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as half of Labour supporters say his government is failing
Handmade Pumpkin Mug: Ashburn Exclusivetopgadgetlife |
Shop Now
Undo
Disaster for Keir Starmer as tens of thousands demand general election now in new petition
Sky News interrupted for Nigel Farage 'breaking news' as Keir Starmer dealt crushing blow
Unfortunately, we are closing the Straw Panama Hats.Ranch & Row |
Shop Now
Undo
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
If your dog is this friendly, it’s time to get ADT.ADT |
Shop Now
Undo
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Get Deals
Undo
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Discover Amazing Drone Photos (View Now)Majormirror |
Undo
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Labour accused of throwing veterans 'under the double decker bus in favour of the IRA'
Why Bluecut Lenses Are a Must-HaveGoggles4U Eyeglasses |
Shop Now
Undo
BBC Breakfast has Labour minister squirming in agonising migrant car crash
Nigel Farage row explodes on GB News as Reform MP rages 'I ask the questions!'
These Straw Hats Should Be Your Best Accessories in 2025.Ranch & Row |
Shop Now
Undo
Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside ￡500m to close asylum hotels
I went to a migrant hotel protest - one thing left me feeling completely hopeless
NYC to Europe in Style with La CompagnieLa Compagnie |
Book Now
Undo
Nicola Sturgeon admits she could fall for a woman in latest revelation
Keir Starmer likes talking tough on economy - so how can he justify this area of spending?
Should Starmer call an immediate general election? Vote here
Keir Starmer issues statement as 700k call for immediate general election
Angela Rayner's plan for votes at 16 rejected by most Brits
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as half of Labour supporters say his government is failing
Disaster for Keir Starmer as tens of thousands demand general election now in new petition
Sky News interrupted for Nigel Farage 'breaking news' as Keir Starmer dealt crushing blow
Nicola Sturgeon launches extraordinary attack on Nigel Farage: 'Odious!'
Humiliation for Keir Starmer as election petition hits huge new milestone
Humiliation for Starmer as petition demanding new election reaches embarrassing milestone
Kemi Badenoch has a new reason to lose sleep over Reform UK
Jeremy Corbyn has ensured that the pints are on Nigel Farage if they ever go to the pub
Reform UK's huge boost as Nigel Farage snatches key support from Labour and Tories
Rachel Reeves has lost Labour the election and sent farmers to Reform UK
Dementia Has Been Linked To a Common Habit. Do You Do It?Memory Health
Undo
Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Doctors Speechless: New ED Med Works Lightning FastMen's Health
Undo
Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Men with ED: Eat 1 Teaspoon Every Day, See What Happens A Week Later [Video]Health Paradise
Undo
Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Urologists: Men With ED - Try This TonightHealth Paradise
Undo
Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
But, within that framework, we must be allowed to engage with different ideas and debates, to have a broad perspective of politics, policies, and principles.
It’s perhaps never been truer that you sometimes find yourself with unusual bedfellows in politics and I certainly didn’t expect to be writing about agreeing with Nigel Farage.
But on this he, and people in my own party, are right to hold this weak and woeful Labour Government to account and to call for it to urgently make changes to this legislation, to ensure a better balance between protecting the young from harm and removing their opportunity to engage in and learn more about the politics of the day.
Read Next
SUBSCRIBEInvalid email
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy