Responsibility Cuts Both Ways, Nigel

So, apparently Sir Keir Starmer will be “responsible” if anything happens to Nigel Farage. That was the line from Reform’s policy man, delivered with all the solemnity of a health-and-safety briefing. The logic runs thus: if Starmer says “fight” at a Labour conference, some deranged leftie will take it literally and have a swing at Nigel. Really? By that standard, Churchill would have been tried at Nuremberg for his “fight them on the beaches” speech.

But look at the contrast. When Starmer talks about a fight, he’s fighting a policy – mass deportations of families who’ve been here decades. Political combat. Words that belong in a manifesto. Nobody gets punched. Nobody smashes a mosque window. It’s rhetorical argy-bargy, no more.

Now, rewind to Southport last summer. Children murdered at a dance class. A nation grieving. And who pops up? Farage – wondering aloud whether “the truth is being held from us,” speculating about secret files, whispering about “two-tier policing.” No facts, just fuel poured on a fire. Result? Riots. Mosques attacked. The far right mobilised. Police chiefs warning his words gave succour to the EDL. If Starmer’s speech was a metaphorical boxing ring, Farage’s was the pub loudmouth handing out free petrol bombs.

And here’s the gall: Reform now say Keir would be culpable if someone lays a finger on Nigel. Yet Farage’s own rhetoric had real-world consequences for immigrants, Muslims, anyone who looked vaguely foreign in Southport. Ask them about “responsibility.” Ask the families living in fear after his little “I wonder if the truth is being held back” routine.

So let’s be clear. Starmer’s “fight” is about ballots and policies. Farage’s “questions” gave cover to riots and race-baiting. If we’re divvying up responsibility for dangerous rhetoric, Nigel’s tab runs a lot longer than Keir’s.