Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Nigel Farage questioned over commitment to MP role by Lib Dem chief

Wendy Chamberlain questioned the priorities for Reform UK MPs Lee Anderson and Nigel Farage, both of whom host shows on GB News

Archie Mitchell
Sunday 15 September 2024 20:48 BST
Comments
Nigel Farage was elected as an MP in July’s election (House of Commons/PA)
Nigel Farage was elected as an MP in July’s election (House of Commons/PA) (PA Media)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

The Liberal Democrat chief whip has questioned the commitment of Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson to their roles as MPs.

At the party’s autumn conference in Brighton, Wendy Chamberlain suggested constituency work appeared not to be the priority for the Reform UK MPs, both of whom host shows on GB News.

Months after it was revealed Mr Farage was the highest-paid MP outside of parliament, with a £98,000-a-month GB News gig, Ms Chamberlain backed potential plans to stop MPs hosting shows outside parliament.

And speaking to The Independent at her party conference, Ms Chamberlain said: “The saddest thing of all is communities like Clacton and Ashfield are the ones that actually need the most assiduous constituency MPs to get underneath the casework.

“It suggests [where] your priorities are, if you are earning more from doing that kind of stuff (TV) than you are as a constituency MP… I’d be interested to know what the constituency experiences are to date.

“You just need to look at Nigel Farage’s record in the European Parliament, he was doing more outside it than inside.”

In response, Mr Farage, who was in Chicago on Friday in this third visit to the US in just over two months, told The Independent: “I don’t know whether she goes on holiday.

“I have not this year but I am fulfilling diary commitments. We are making good progress in Clacton.”

Asked what Sir Keir Starmer’s government needed to do to halt the rise of Reform before the next election, Ms Chamberlain said he had to “deliver on a fundamental and basic level”.

Reform won five seats at the general election, but had a 14.3 per cent share of the vote - higher than the Lib Dems, which received a 12.2 per cent share.

Ms Chamberlain’s comments came on the second day of the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference, with Sir Ed Davey promising the Lib Dems “will hold [the Government] to account” when they disagree, adding that the party believes there needs to be “reform and investment” in the health service.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Sir Ed said his party “absolutely will challenge the Government where we disagree with them”, and pledged to be a “better opposition than the Conservatives”.

He later added: “We’re worried that in the NHS debate, they’re talking about reform before investment, when we think there needs to be reform and investment.

“So we will hold them to account, but we will be different from the Conservatives because being constructive means you have a different tone.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in