Nigel Farage’s Reform UK declared itself the “real opposition” to Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party on Friday, in the party’s fourth press event since it said it would look to provide British Sign Language interpretation for conferences from last Tuesday.
A Reform UK spokesman told Liam O’Dell of the commitment on 31 May, in a statement which also saw him confirm an “accessible version” of the party’s alternative to a manifesto – called a ‘contract’ – would also be made available once the policy document has been launched.
“At the launch of our Contract [With The People] there will be an accessible version downloadable from the website.
“We are also working on ensuring that going forward – and technical problems notwithstanding – that from Tuesday [4 June] future formal press conferences will be produced with a BSL signing option,” he said.
The 4 June saw Farage launch his election campaign in the Essex town of Clacton, a day after confirming he would attempt to become an MP for the eighth time by standing in the constituency, and that he had taken over from Richard Tice to become party leader for the next five years.
However, the Clacton event did not come with BSL interpretation, and Reform UK has since held three press conferences which have also been inaccessible to Deaf signers.
Friday’s address followed the second ITV leaders’ debate on Thursday (which, like the first, came without live sign language interpretation) and a new poll from YouGov which placed Reform UK above the Conservatives for the first time when it came to voting intention.
While Labour lead with 37%, Reform UK is now placed one percentage point above the Conservatives at 19%.
Despite this change, the polling company currently estimates the party will not secure any seats in the general election next month.
Nevertheless, responding to the latest polling, Farage told reporters: “The inflection point has arrived.
“[It] means that actually, if you vote Conservative in the red wall, you will almost certainly get Labour. A Conservative vote in the red wall is now a wasted vote – we are the challengers to Labour; we are now the real opposition.”
The ‘red wall’ refers to constituencies in the north of England and the Midlands which have historically voted for the Labour Party, although many commentators described it as ‘turning blue’ following the 2019 election, when Boris Johnson’s Conservatives secured 365 seats compared to Labour’s 253.
Farage is expected to host another press conference on Monday, when the finalised version of the party’s ‘contract’ – currently available online as a draft – will be released.
However, Reform UK wasn’t the only party to hold an inaccessible press conference on Friday, as the Conservative Party reacted to Labour’s manifesto – published on Thursday – with a speech from Laura Trott, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who branded the policy document a “tax trap”.
The Tories’ Twitter livestream of the press conference came without on-screen BSL interpretation, and it is not clear whether an in-person interpreter was provided.
Rishi Sunak’s party unveiled its manifesto, Clear Plan, Bold Action, Secure Future, on Tuesday, but while interpreting company Sign Solutions have confirmed they provided interpretation for the event, no BSL interpreter was visible in-person at the launch, or on online livestreams.
Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Images: Reform TV/YouTube.
Liam O'Dell 