Politics
More Brits than not disapprove of Farage’s riot-stoking Henry Nowak rhetoric
On 2 June, Nigel Farage gave a speech in which he called on Britons to react with “pure, cold rage”. He said this in response to the conviction of Sikh murderer Vickrum Digwa, and to a recording of how the police treated his victim Henry Nowak. On the same day that Farage made his speech, a white riot erupted in Southampton; since then, Sikhs have face increased harassment.
Clearly, Farage is banking on more Britons than not buying into his violent rhetoric. According to a new poll, however, things aren’t going how he planned:
Kemi Badenoch received the most positive ratings for her response to the Henry Nowak case (+12 after rounding). Yet perhaps most striking is how many voters remain undecided or don't know. pic.twitter.com/3ACVaCBT91
— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) June 6, 2026
Nigel Farage received the lowest (-6).
Farage — Incitement
After the initial backlash, Farage warned that the white riots we saw in Southampton were “just the beginning”. Obviously, those who thought Farage incited the riots saw this as a threat, and with clear reason. His argument for it being “just the beginning” was this:
large numbers of young white males think the police are prejudiced against them.
Oh, do they?
And why do they think that?
Is it because you’re telling them that, despite all evidence pointing to the opposite being true?
The police officers who handcuffed the stabbed Nowak committed the grossest of gross misconduct, but suggesting this one incident completely invalidates decades of evidence on racist policing is willful incitement.
Farage’s cynical reasons for riling up the far right are obvious. In the Makerfield by-election, Reform UK is facing a challenge from its right – specifically from Restore Britain. Reform politicians are trying to neutralise this challenge by presenting themselves as even more far-right than their rival.
Response
In the Opinium poll, more people than not disapprove of Keir Starmer’s response too. Starmer’s response was fairly measured, but it’s predictable that the public would react negatively, because he’s a polarising figure.
Zack Polanski also attracted more disapproval than approval, albeit with a significantly lower levels for each. This is likely because Polanski didn’t make an obvious play for political capital, and with good reason. After all, this is what the father of Henry Nowak said following the conviction of Digwa:
Henry Nowak’s father said the following earlier:
“We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking story to make change for the better. We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets safer for everyone.“
These…
— Simon Harris (@SimonHarrisMBD) June 1, 2026
The fact that Farage ignored these words no doubt added to the negative response against him.
The only politician above to attract more approval than disapproval was Kemi Badenoch. As we reported, though, Badenoch was every bit as dishonest as Farage; she was simply less violent with her rhetoric.
Specifically, we took issue with Badenoch saying she’s tired of people arguing about ‘whether Black or white lives matter more’:
Of course, this was never the message of the Black Lives Matter movement. Badenoch is suggesting otherwise because she — like Farage — is a liar and an opportunist.
The Black Lives Matter movement sprung up in response to racist policing in the US. These police officers were responsible for a disproportionate number of Black deaths, giving the impression that Black lives were less important than white lives in the eye of the American state. The slogan, then, was created to state that Black people’s lives do matter – not that they matter more than anyone else’s.
The fact that Badenoch was able to make this case without being corrected shows how effective the anti-Black propaganda has been since the 2020 BLM marches. And make no mistake; it’s precisely this sort of propaganda which has driven voters towards Reform UK.
As Opinium also notes, the majority of voters ticked ‘neither’ or ‘don’t know’. This suggests many simply aren’t tuned into the culture wars which are raging every day on social media.
Polarising
According to one poll, Reform and Restore currently occupy the second and third places in the Makerfield by-election. Obviously it’s grim that so many Britons are willing to offer their support to the far-right. At the same time, the people who don’t support Reform really don’t support Reform. Farage’s big challenge, then, isn’t going to be any one party; it’s going to be tactical voting.
We’ve become accustomed to thinking Reform is doing ‘well’ despite appealing to fewer than a third of all voters:
Via @findoutnowUK, 4 June (+/- vs 27 May) pic.twitter.com/ME032l3BiA
— Stats for Lefties
Many of the 70%+ who can’t stand Reform are going to be working to keep the party out. And the more Farage doubles down on white supremacy, the truer that will be.
Featured image via Ryan Jenkinson (Getty Images) / Finnbarr Webster (Getty Images)
By Willem Moore
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