From broken to lawless: Farage’s Politics of Fear

(Image uses AI)

‍

‘Britain is lawless’  

That’s the latest slogan plastered behind Nigel Farage as he launches his newest campaign under Reform UK. It’s everywhere now: on social media, in speeches, in interviews where Farage repeats it with absolute conviction. It’s a message curated to fuel the crisis narrative which Farage has built his career on. Last year, it was ‘Britain is broken’, a slogan that claimed the Conservative Party and migrants are to blame for the country’s supposed destruction. Now it’s lawlessness.

‍

Farage’s introduction of more extreme rhetoric does not exist within vacuum. He follows a summer of anti-immigration protests particularly outside hotels which house asylum seekers. This includes a protest this week at the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf, where an initially peaceful protest erupted into violence. According to Metropolitan police, masked men attempted to break into the hotel hosting asylum seekers and harassed ‘occupants and staff’. Perhaps if Farage is serious about who’s making Britain lawless, he may want to take a closer look at his own supporters.

‍

Within his campaign launch speech, Farage repeatedly weaponised familiar themes of crime, immigration, wokeness and cultural decline. He blames diversity quotas and ‘some people who come for certain cultures’ for the lawlessness which he claims people already fear. Whilst this seemed to fit with Farage’s wider message, what struck me was the weaponization of violence against women and children within his justification.

‍

Farage continues to push his racist agenda under the false pretence of defending the rights and freedoms of vulnerable people. When challenged by a Sky News reporter over whether his campaign was merely inciting fear, Farage deflected painting a picture of women anxious about their teenagers and dared the journalist to walk in London after 9pm wearing jewellery. Whilst on the service these comments appeal to real concerns in our country over safety – Farage’s record suggests otherwise. His claims for women’s wellbeing rings hollow in the light of past remarks, particularly in 2014 when he claimed working mothers are ‘worth less’ than men when it comes to analysing the gender pay gap.

‍

Whilst Farage’s description of ‘lawless’ evokes imagery of an almost dystopian Britain, his campaign as usual is founded on feeling, not facts. On his own website, he disputes how crime is measured and emphasises that his ‘own feeling is that crime is rising’. These claims are deeply misleading. According to the Office for National statistics crime has generally decreased over the last decade. Although in 2025, shoplifting rose 20%, homicides have fallen by 6% (the lowest rate since 2014) and knife related offences have fallen by 1%.

‍

But ultimately, Reform is wielding fear skilfully. By driving the narrative that Britain has been ‘broken’ by the Conservatives and rendered ‘lawless’ under labour, Reform presents itself as the only solution for a country plagued with uncertainty.  In Farage’s echo chamber of anger and division, he offers a simple answer. Britain needs Reform. But perhaps the truth is the opposite. Perhaps it’s not Britain that needs Reform but Reform that needs fear.