News
Andy Gregory
May 26, 2019
With the launch of his Brexit Party, Nigel Farage is back to stoking political tensions across the country to a worrying degree.
While his campaign has been met with dairy-based resistance along the way, new footage from Sky News highlights exactly the kind of dangerous sentiment he is encouraging.
Political correspondent Lewis Goodall asked the crowd gathered at AFC Fylde's football grounds, near Blackpool, their opinions on Brexit and the responses were unsettling to say the least.
When asked about Jeremy Corbyn, one supporter of Farage (the man who claimed Brexit had been won without a single bullet being fired, after the murder of Jo Cox) was heard to shout among a wave of booing:
Lynch him.
Another man can be heard saying “there would be a civil war” if Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn achieved a deal in the coming weeks.
This comes almost two years to the day after Nigel Farage threatened to "don khaki, pick up a rifle and head for the front lines" if Theresa May failed to deliver a hard Brexit.
The sizeable crowd also seemed to agree with statements that “we didn’t vote for a compromise” and that “we’d get over it” if Brexit caused job losses.
Mr Goodall compared the atmosphere to that of a Trump rally - an assessment that will likely thrill the former UKIP leader. His opinion on the following take is more uncertain.
Trumpian lingo also came to the fore as the largely elderly crowd denounced Sky News as "fake news".
One lady, who told Mr Goodall "shame on you", justified her statement by saying, "well you're a reporter aren't you", suggesting a belief that simply being a reporter is proof of peddling fake news.
Aside from the fact it's a Brexit Party rally, Farage's influence on the views of those interviewed is also apparent.
The clip opens with a supporter angrily asserting that the deal is "like a document you would sign if you’d surrendered in a war" - a verbatim copy of a trope used by Farage numerous times.
People were understandably alarmed by the footage.
The vitriol shown in the video worried Leave and Remain voters alike.
While others felt calls for physical violence put recent events into perspective.
If this has left anyone feeling distressed, we apologise. Here's a milkshake and some wisdom to wash it down with.
More: This Twitter thread on Nigel Farage and Brexit is must-read
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