At a press convention on Monday by which Reform UK introduced the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire and Rutland was becoming a member of their ranks, in addition to former jail governor Vanessa Frake, I requested Nigel Farage a easy query.
However his reply wasn’t what I anticipated.
I requested the Reform UK chief if the six-week marketing campaign on regulation and order, with the tagline “Britain is Lawless”, was in truth undertaking worry scaring individuals into voting for his celebration.
He completely rejected that declare and responded to me saying: “No, they’re afraid. They’re afraid. I dare you, I dare you to stroll via the West Finish of London after 9 o’clock of a night carrying jewelry. You would not do it. You recognize that I am proper. You would not do it.”
I’m not afraid to stroll within the West Finish of London after 9pm carrying jewelry.
I’ve completed it many instances earlier than and can proceed to take action… however maybe that’s as a result of I don’t personal a Rolex.
Nonetheless, simply because Farage is mistaken on that time, doesn’t suggest he is not tapping into different reliable fears throughout the nation.
Snatch theft does fear me, therefore why I now have a telephone case with a strap connected to it that I can put round my physique.
And I fear about knife crime in my space and what the influence could possibly be if I had been to have youngsters – on the weekend somebody was stabbed to loss of life a stone’s throw from my home.
Farage ‘not mincing his phrases’
Nonetheless, if we have a look at the statistics, it’s invariably a extra nuanced image than Farage or social media may need us imagine.
In accordance with police stories, thefts from a person in London are almost five times the national average, they usually’ve been going up for the reason that pandemic.
And the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) additionally notes that thefts exterior of the house, eg telephone snatching, has increased.
Nonetheless, possession of weapons has fallen in London by 29% during the last three years.
And in response to the ONS, crime in England and Wales is 30% decrease than in 2015, and 76% decrease than 1995.
And it’s a related image for violent crime.
In brief, am I proper to be extra fearful that snatch theft and knife crime in London is growing? Sure, and no.
However Nigel Farage is tapping into voters’ feelings – their emotions that the nation is damaged. It is a image the Conservative Party helped to create and the Labour Party fortunately painted to nice impact throughout the basic election marketing campaign of 2024.
And the extra politicians of all colors inform voters that “the system is damaged”, the extra voters may begin to imagine them.
That’s what Nigel Farage is banking on.
