Nigel Farage has sparked further confusion over Reform UK’s position on Britain’s involvement in the war in the Middle East, as he declared the UK should “not get involved”.
The Reform UK leader has been accused of “panicking” after making the comments during a stunt at a petrol station in Derbyshire on Tuesday.
He said Britain should “not get ourselves involved in another foreign war”, despite senior members of his party previously saying the UK should join the US strikes in the Middle East.
Asked about his stance on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: “Given that we can’t even send a Royal Navy vessel to defend British sovereign territory and an RAF base, we certainly don’t have the capability to offer anything of any value to the Americans or the Israelis.”
He added: “There are differing opinions as to whether we should physically join the attacks. I, as leader, am saying to you, if we can’t even defend Cyprus, let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war.”
Pressed on how he would respond to a potential US request for help from UK troops, Mr Farage also said: “We don’t have the soldiers anyway. Even if we did, I would say it’s no to boots on the ground.”
But last week, Mr Farage spoke in favour of intervening in the conflict, saying it was “different” to the Iraq War and insisting it would be “worth it” if British involvement helped to thwart Iranian hopes of developing a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, Richard Tice, Reform’s MP for Boston and Skegness, said last week that Britain “would be helping the Americans and the Israelis in any way they saw appropriate” if the party was in power, as he responded to a question about whether Reform would instruct the RAF to take part in the strikes.
Nadhim Zahawi also previously said the UK “should join the bombing”, while Robert Jenrick took a different stance on Sunday, telling the BBC it was not “in the interests of the British people”.
He said: “If you’re asking me the question, do I think that it is in the interests of the British people ... for us to be deploying British airmen in bombing raids over Iran right now, when our allies have not asked us to do that, then, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.”
A Labour source told The Independent that his latest comments prove Reform UK’s foreign policy is “in chaos”.
“Nigel Farage and Reform spent the past week saying they would bomb Iran,” they said.
“Now they’re backtracking as petrol prices rise, leaving their foreign policy in chaos. That’s not serious leadership, that’s panic."
Anna Turley MP, chair of the Labour Party, said: “Going to war is the most serious decision a prime minister can make. Nigel Farage spent the past week calling for escalation that would make cost of living pressures even worse.
“If he had been prime minister he would have already dragged our country into this war and wouldn’t be able to U-turn like he has done today.
“While Keir Starmer offers serious, level-headed leadership in the national interest, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have shown themselves to be unfit for office.”
Mr Farage was speaking as he staged a petrol station stunt to highlight his pledge to reverse the government’s planned fuel duty hike by scrapping “lunatic” net zero levies.
The Reform UK leader announced the policy at a forecourt in Derbyshire where the price board was covered in the party’s turquoise branding with the lettering “Reform Refuel” and “25p off with Farage”, putting a litre of diesel at £1.43.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has resisted calls to cancel the planned 5p increase in fuel duty in response to the oil price spike caused by the Iran conflict.
Speaking at Newhaven services on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: “The way we sneakily do tax in this country means there’s about 6p going on a litre of petrol staged over the course of the next few months. This is just about the last time this should happen.
“How are we going to pay for not increasing taxes? Well, we’re going to get rid of lunatic green levies. In particular, I’m thinking about heat pump subsidies.”
A Reform UK government would save £13bn a year by cutting spending on net zero initiatives, Mr Jenrick said.
The spokesperson, who recently defected from the Tories, said: “We’re announcing £13bn of savings from Ed Miliband’s department, scrapping a lot of the net zero madness that is impoverishing people, de-industrialising our country right now.”
The party would scrap the scheme providing grants to homeowners to install heat pumps, cut investment in carbon capture technologies, and axe grants for new electric vehicles, he said.
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