Nigel Farage accuses Michael Heseltine of 'bile and hatred' over 'racist Reform' claim
Nigel Farage's comments about Lord Heseltine came as he explained why he wouldn't be standing in the general election.
Nigel Farage has ridiculed comments made by Lord Michael Heseltine at the Hay Festival about Reform UK.
Lord Heseltine, a former Conservative MP, reportedly told an audience at the event that “racism is basically what underpins UKIP and Reform".
Lord Heseltine commented: “I have lived through some of the most tumultuous events of our time, and anyone who is looking for the common theme, it’s racism.”
Following the events, former TV presenter Nigel Farage criticised Lord Heseltine and his comments as forms of “bile and hatred”.
Speaking to GB News about Lord Heseltine’s comments, Mr Farage claimed: “He is, of course, a fanatical pro-European, fanatical globalist. If he's in my personal company, he sort of physically has to be away from me.
“I have done some debates with him head to head. He's filled with bile, hatred, and intolerance. He's a proper, full-on, modern-day liberal. And he can't accept that anybody else has a different view."
Mr Farage’s comments about Lord Heseltine came hours after he explained why he had decided not to run in this year’s general election.
He admitted that he had been planning to run, and had even looked at launch venues, but had pulled out.
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Mr Farage explained: “I had a plan, actually. I'll let you in on a secret. I was going to launch tomorrow - I had a venue booked, I had it all ready to go. But the problem is, you can't win in a constituency - or it's very difficult to win - without data.
“It's even harder to win when you're Nigel Farage because the other side will cheat. There'll be third-party outside influencers, and I needed a really good run at this. And six weeks wasn't enough.”
Mr Farage said he thought that rather than stick in a constituency for six weeks it would be a good idea to travel around the country to support Reform candidates and “get a proper debate going”.
One of the areas where Mr Farage has travelled to support Reform candidates has been Dover where he gave a speech earlier this month about immigration and the small boats crisis.
