Nigel Farage on high streets, welfare and Reform councillors stepping down during South Yorkshire visit
“We need to rethink the whole model of what a town and city centre is. And we haven't really quite got there."
Nigel Farage launched his general election campaign by calling Doncaster “broken” when he took to the stage.
His appearance at Doncaster Racecourse on October 1 marked the first stop on Reform UK’s ‘100 Days to Save Britain’ tour, outlining what the party would do in their first 100 days in government should they win the next general election.
Before his public speech, he told reporters: “[Andy] Burnham and [John] Healey are now talking about reindustrialisation.
“The argument I'll make on the stage this afternoon is you cannot reindustrialise when your industrial energy price this week is 8.5 times that of America, and 12 times that of China. I'm going to argue strongly that net zero has really hurt places like Doncaster.”
When questioned by the Local Democracy Reporter Scheme (LDRS) on the controversial proposal for the Whitestone Solar Farm across Doncaster and Rotherham, he said “solar farms are a complete abomination.”
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, visited the Whitestone site on the morning of the speech and spoke to residents.
Mr Tice said the proposals are “absolutely catastrophic”.
“King Harold, 1,000 years ago, literally rode right through the middle of Whitestone Solar Park, on his way down to Hastings, after the battle.”
“Solar farms are ghastly, especially when they're on good agricultural land,” Mr Farage added.
Regarding the controversial plans to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Mr Farage said he hadn’t been briefed, but Mr Tice clarified Reform UK had not changed its stance.
Mr Tice said: “We've always been supportive of it, but not unreasonably. We want it to be properly governed, properly managed, and not to waste money.
“We've been critical of the terms of the lease that was agreed.
“Actually, our input is already having an impact. We're massive fans of regional aviation. It is a very important growth opportunity, but no one wants to have money wasted, and bluntly to be ripped off."
Mr Tice clarified that buying the airport outright instead of leasing the land was still their preferred position.
“I’m a real estate guy,” Mr Tice said. “So I understand about freeholds.”
Mr Farage also addressed concerns over Doncaster's high street and said: “The high street faces all sorts of challenges, online shopping, Meadowhall, and all the different ways that people do things. The only way to reinvigorate high streets is to make town centres and city centres places where people start to live again.
“We haven't quite readjusted the idea that, actually, town and city centres are where people live. And if people live, suddenly, you will start to get corner shops, butchers, bakers, springing up.
“We need to rethink the whole model of what a town and city centre is. And we haven't really quite got there."
He said under the Prime Minister “all the bookmakers will go, and this place will be closed down,” referring to Doncaster Racecourse. “The Burnham assault on the horse racing industry is quite extraordinary.”
On cutting welfare, Mr Farage said: "I'm concerned about the consequences of a young generation being called victims at very early ages, believing they're victims, and staying victims for the rest of their lives.
"I completely believe that from 15 years onwards, there is a massive overdiagnosis of ADHD and many other things, and I think we're throwing young people on a scrap heap. I think it's an absolute disaster.
"I know once you give someone something, taking it away is difficult, and initially, there'll be objections to it. But I do actually think, overall, it's the right thing to do.
"We are not, for one minute, advocating taking away proper safety nets for those that are genuinely disabled or genuinely have real problems," he said.
"But, you can't tell me, a thousand people a day going on the disability register is sustainable, it's not. It's also completely unaffordable."
Sharing his thoughts on the Reform councillors who have resigned and lost the whip from Doncaster council, Mr Farage said: "It happens in every party. I mean, I'd rather it hadn't happened. I'm not thrilled about it. But then, just down the road, I look at Greater Lincolnshire. I look at Lincolnshire County Council. I think we're doing a very good job."