THE leader of political party Reform UK, Nigel Farage has said there is ‘an attack on rural life’ in Cornwall after speaking to hundreds at a conference in Pool.

Around 700 people turned out for the chance to hear Mr Farage speak at the party conference at Carn Brea Leisure Centre in Pool yesterday (February 24).

However, while some were there to hear from Mr Farage, others were less happy with his visit, as crowds gathered outside the venue to protest Mr Farage and his party’s views. Chants of “Cornwall is anti-fascist”, “Nazis” and “Farage does not speak for us”, could be heard from around the centre.

Mr Farage made his feelings known about the protesters’ presence, as he opened his speech by verbally attacking the crowds for being “intent in shutting down this exercise in democracy”, even describing them as “hard left Communist political actors”.

He said: “We will not be cowed, we will not be silenced, we are the British people, we want a common sense government back in charge of our country and we are going to win.”

One resident, John Bell, told reporters that he has been a lifelong Labour supporter “through and through”, but feels they’re not the party for the working class anymore. From Sunderland but living in Cornwall for the past 20 years, Mr Bell is standing for Reform at the Cornwall Council election on May 1. He cited ‘net zero’ as a waste of money and is dismissive of “diversity officers” in workplaces and believes everyone should simply be treated with respect.

“I’m definitely not far right,” he added. “I’m not even right. This party brings people together from all walks of life.” Though much of the demographic of those in the audience were white people aged over 50.

Following his speech, Mr Farage met the media. Angry about the scuffles outside, in which he claimed someone had lost a tooth, he said that he was going to write to the acting chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police as he believed those entering the conference weren’t given enough protection.

Responding to Mr Farage’s criticism, Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Police were aware of a political party event at Carn Brea Leisure Centre in Pool, Cornwall today, Monday, February 24. Officers attended in order to ensure the safety of those present and prevent any potential breach of the peace.

“We were aware of some minor issues that occurred between protesters and counter protesters which were brought under control by officers. No arrests were made.”

When asked about the views of some of those protesting that Reform is a far right party, Mr Farage said: “This is just nonsense. It’s rather like in football – if the chap coming up to you is too good for you, just hoof his legs away. We’ve had enough of cancel culture, we’ve had enough of this nonsense we’ve been through for the last few years.

“America is showing us the way that actually you can call each other all the blimmin’ names under the sun. It doesn’t matter – we’ll allow people to speak. That protest was an attempt to stop a democratic meeting with the use of violence.”

On fighting for every one of Cornwall Council’s 87 seats, Mr Farage said there were three reasons he believed Cornish people “may be aggrieved” and could possibly vote for his party.

“One is the council is £1.3-billion in debt. How? How does that happen? We need good common sense people in local government who say ‘woah’ and we will do that. It’s a bad situation for Cornwall which means council tax is going to go up and up. Everybody in Cornwall will pay for their mistakes. No one is saying it’s easy – we know social care is expensive.

“The second reason is the fishing industry, big Brexiteers – 90 per cent voted for Brexit. What’s been delivered?”

When pressed on the feelings of fishermen in Cornwall following Brexit, many of whom feel they were sold down the river and are in a worse position than they were before, he responded: “I have a close family member who’s in the industry in this county – I’m not going any further than that – so don’t tell me about problems about the inefficiency of the trade deal, the fact that we didn’t even take 12 miles. There are more French, Belgian and Dutch boats on the six-mile line here now than ever before.”

When asked if he feels partially to blame for that, he continued: “I feel bloody angry that I helped the Conservatives get an 80-seat majority on the back of this and they delivered sod all. It’s not what I fought for. I’m invested in the industry – I have money in the industry and family. I’m furious. Did I push for Brexit? Yes. Did I push for massive bureaucracy? No. The minimum was the 12-mile line that the industry needed and it’s not been delivered.

“I also feel there is an attack on rural life. Trail hunting. Whatever you think about fox hunting – how harmless is trail hunting, yet Labour are even talking about banning that. Labour have four MPs out of six in Cornwall and I’m after them.”

Later, he was asked if he agreed the US President that Ukraine’s President Zelensky is a dictator: “You should always take Donald Trump seriously, but not always take him absolutely literally. What he’s saying is that Zelensky should have elections and at some point, yes, he should have elections.

“Is he a dictator? No, of course he’s not. Is that how Trump does business? Yes, he’s a New Yorker, it’s a different style and different approach. Is it right that we have peace negotiations after three years and a million battle casualties? Absolutely, but Ukraine must not be thrown under the bus. Whatever deal comes on land – Crimea, whatever it may be – Ukraine has to have proper security guarantees.”

Rounding off his speech to supporters, Mr Farage took a leaf out of the American President’s book, stating: “We will, to quote a friend of mine, make Britain great again.”