House of Lords ‘doesn’t need more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage’, says Cabinet minister as Labour sparks furious row by shutting down Reform UK’s demand for peerages
Parliament doesn’t need ‘more Vladimir Putin apologists’ like Nigel Farage, a Cabinet minister said today as he dismissed Reform UK’s call for peerages.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, sparked a furious political row as he referred to Mr Farage’s past comments about the Russian leader.
It came after Mr Farage wrote to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to demand he be allowed to nominate some Reform peers to the House of Lords for the first time.
The Reform leader hit out at a ‘democratic disparity’ that sees his party have no representation in Parliament’s unelected upper chamber.
This is despite Reform having four MPs and controlling a slew of local councils.
In his letter to Sir Keir, seen by The Times, Mr Farage pointed out how other parties with a small number of MPs had been able to nominate peers.
Mr Farage also noted how Reform won more than 4.1 million votes at last year’s general election, and has led in national opinion polls for many months.
‘The Greens, DUP, Plaid Cymru and UUP have 13 peers between them, but Reform UK has none,’ he wrote.
Parliament doesn’t need ‘more Vladimir Putin apologists’ like Nigel Farage , a Cabinet minister said today as he dismissed Reform UK’s call for peerages.
John Healey, the Defence Secretary, sparked a furious political row as he referred to Mr Farage’s past comments about the Russian leader.
In 2014, while he was UKIP leader, Mr Farage told GQ magazine that Mr Putin is the world leader he admired the most
The Reform leader added: ‘The time has come to address the democratic disparity that exists in the upper house.’
The Greens have four MPs in the House of Commons and two peers in the Lords, the DUP have five MPs and six peers, and the UUP have one MP and three peers.
Reform figures such as Ann Widdecombe, the ex-Tory MP, Nick Candy, a billionaire donor, and Zia Yusuf, Reform’s ex-chairman, are potential candidates for the Lords.
Asked about Reform’s demands this morning, Mr Healey told LBC: ‘I’m not sure that Parliament’s going to benefit from more Putin apologists like Nigel Farage, to be honest.’
Pressed on whether that accusation was ‘a bit strong’, Mr Healey replied: ‘Look at what he’s said about Russia, look at what he’s said about Putin in the past.’
He added: ‘The voice of Reform is conspicuously absent in any of our discussions and any of our defence debates about Ukraine and about Russia.’
Mr Healey urged Mr Farage, the MP for Clacton, to start ‘weighing in alongside us and the other parties in the House of Commons’ in condemning Mr Putin.
The Defence Secretary also highlighted how Mr Farage has previously called for the Lords to be scrapped and replaced with an elected chamber.
‘This is the same Nigel Farage that called for the abolition of the House of Lords and now wants to fill it with his cronies,’ he said.
In 2014, while he was UKIP leader, Mr Farage told GQ magazine that Mr Putin is the world leader he admired the most.
‘As an operator, but not as a human being, I would say Putin,’ he said. ‘The way he played the whole Syria thing. Brilliant. Not that I approve of him politically.’
Richard Tice, Reform’s deputy leader, accused Mr Healey of an ‘outrageous slander’ with his remarks about Mr Farage this morning.
Calling in to LBC himself, Mr Tice said: ‘I nearly crashed my car in fury. Frankly, I think that Mr Healey… may be suffering a bit of August sunstroke.’
He added that Mr Farage’s comments about Mr Putin were ‘made about 10 years ago’ and on ‘a specific point’.
‘That doesn’t mean that one supports him or is an apologist for him,’ he continued.
‘It’s just an outrageous slander by the Secretary of State. And it just shows how desperate the Labour Party are because we’re leading in the polls.’
Mr Farage has hit out at a ‘democratic disparity’ that sees Reform have no representation in Parliament’s unelected upper chamber
Reform figures such as Ann Widdecombe, the ex-Tory MP (left), Nick Candy, a billionaire donor (centre), and Zia Yusuf, Reform’s ex-chairman (right), are potential candidates for the Lords
In December last year, Sir Keir appointed 30 new Labour peers – including a string of ex-MPs and his sacked chief of staff Sue Gray – to the House of Lords.
At the same time, the Tories had six new peers appointed to the Lords – including former deputy PM Therese Coffey – while the Liberal Democrats got two new peers.
Tory peer Lord Norton of Louth, a constitutional expert, said there was a ‘case for minor parties like Reform to have representation in the Lords’ but this was up to Sir Keir.
‘The PM is the only person who writes the rules on this as it stands,’ he said.
‘Historically appointments to the House of Lords were in the gift of the Crown but that function has been passed to the prime minister.
‘So any decision on whether to create Reform peers would rest with him alone.’
Lord O’Donnell, the former cabinet secretary, said: ‘It is a feature of our system that the PM can appoint whoever they like to the House of Lords.
‘It is an area where I think we need greater checks and balances.’
But Lord Hayward, the Tory peer and election expert, said: ‘Just because Reform has a few MPs and is doing well in the opinion polls that does not mean that they are an established credible party that should be represented in the House of Lords.
‘I think Starmer is entirely within his rights to wait and see how Reform actually does over the next few years before making a decision.’
