Nigel Farage issues warning as Reform councillors forced into 'woke' training
Nigel Farage has blasted plans to force newly-elected Reform UK councillors to undertake 'woke' training courses, saying they "will do no such thing". Mr Farage, who is celebrating gaining 677 new councillors, two mayors and a fifth MP at the recent local elections, took to X today (Tuesday) to make his feelings clear on the training.The Reform UK leader said his party's councillors had been instructed to undergo DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and climate change training. Mr Farage has previously denounced what he calls the "woke virus" affecting public and private institutions in Britain and described DEI training as "lunacy".In the wake of last week's local elections, Mr Farage shared his views on X and said Reform UK councillors would not be accepting the training.He wrote: "Reform UK councillors are being instructed to take part in DEI and climate change training. Our new elected officials will do no such thing because we believe all people should be treated equally."In the US, President Donald Trump has gone on record branding DEI initiatives as "woke" and vowed to end the "tyranny" of their use in the military and federal departments.And Mr Farage, who is a keen suppporter of the Trump administration, said in March that he believed the "tide was turning" when it came to the implementation of certain training doctrines in business and in government.Speaking to Sky News, the 61-year-old said "I think a woke virus has gone through corporate America and corporate Britain", and he hit out at "the lunacies of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policy, of employing people on the basis of their colour, or their chosen sexuality".He continued: "We're seeing the tide turning. You know, when even Mark Zuckerberg announces that he's axing the DEI department at Meta, you know that a big change is coming."And we're moving more towards a system based on meritocracy than based on identity."Reform UK's newest MP took her seat in the House of Commons today (Tuesda) after her by-election success over Labour. Sarah Pochin was flanked by party leader Mr Farage and chief whip Lee Anderson as she arrived in the Commons.She then took an oath of allegiance to the Crown, which all MPs are required to do before they can take their seat in Parliament.In one of the closest parliamentary contests ever, Ms Pochin became the MP for Runcorn and Helsby after she defeated the Labour candidate by just six votes. Labour had won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than a year ago but a by-election was triggered when former MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent.
