The political temperature in the United Kingdom soared this week as Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, found himself at the center of a heated controversy over historic allegations of racism and antisemitism, as well as fresh criticism for recent remarks about schoolchildren in Glasgow. The saga, which has unfolded across several major media outlets, has drawn sharp rebukes from political opponents, ignited debate over the role of broadcasters like the BBC, and thrust the complex issues of immigration and multiculturalism back into the national spotlight.
On December 4, 2025, Farage launched a blistering attack on the BBC following questions about claims he used racist and antisemitic language as a teenager at Dulwich College, a prestigious private school in London, nearly half a century ago. According to Sky News, Farage denounced the broadcaster for what he called "double standards," referencing the BBC's own history of racially insensitive programming. "The double standards and hypocrisy of the BBC are absolutely astonishing," Farage declared during a press conference, singling out shows like The Black and White Minstrel Show and It Ain't Half Hot Mum for their use of blackface and what he described as "homophobic and racist" content. "I want an apology from the BBC for virtually everything you did during the 1970s and 80s," he demanded.
Farage's ire was triggered by a BBC interview in which his deputy, Richard Tice, dismissed the allegations from former classmates as "made-up twaddle." The BBC reported that the accusations against Farage were not new, but had gained renewed attention since mid-November, when The Guardian published interviews with 20 former classmates who recalled racist language and antisemitic remarks, including repeated statements such as "Hitler was right" and "gas them." One Jewish classmate, Peter Ettedgui, told the BBC that Farage had directed such comments at him personally during their time at Dulwich College in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Farage, however, has consistently denied any malicious intent, maintaining that while there was "plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter," it was never meant to be hurtful. At his press conference, he read a letter from an unnamed Jewish former schoolmate, who wrote: "While there was plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter, it was humour. And yes, sometimes it was offensive [...] but never with malice. I never heard him racially abuse anyone. If he had, he would have been reported and punished. He wasn't." The letter went on to describe the culture at Dulwich in the 1970s as "very different," noting that "lots of boys said things they'd regret today or just laugh at."
Nonetheless, critics have been unsparing. Anna Turley, Labour Party chair, told Sky News: "Nigel Farage can't get his story straight. It really shouldn't be this difficult to say whether he racially abused people in the past." She accused Farage of shifting explanations and deflecting blame, arguing, "Instead of shamelessly demanding apologies from others, Nigel Farage should be apologising to the victims of his alleged appalling remarks." A Conservative spokesman added to the chorus, asserting, "Farage is too busy furiously defending himself to defend democracy from the Labour Party's elections delays. Reform's one-man band is in chaos once again."
The controversy took on a new dimension when Farage, in a campaign video posted on YouTube, turned his attention to Glasgow's schools. Highlighting Scottish government data that showed nearly one in three pupils in Glasgow speak English as a second language, Farage described the situation as "cultural smashing of Glasgow" and claimed it was unfair to taxpayers that "people like this should come into Britain illegally." He vowed that immigration would be a "really big issue" for Reform UK in the 2026 election, as reported by BBC News.
These remarks provoked swift and fierce condemnation from across the political spectrum. First Minister John Swinney accused Farage of being a "purveyor of racist views," stating, "I think Nigel Farage's comments are quite simply racist. There's no other way to describe them." Swinney added, "I don't know quite when we believed multilingualism was something of a problem in our society – it's not a view I take, I think it's a benefit and reflects the diversity of our country." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer went even further, calling Farage "a toxic, divisive disgrace" and criticizing him for "using children to start that divide." Starmer argued that Farage was "only interested in the politics of grievance" and "pulling communities and societies apart." Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar echoed the sentiment, exclaiming, "How dare [Farage] use Glasgow's kids to spread his poison."
Behind the rhetoric, the statistics tell a nuanced story. In 2024, 29% of Glasgow's pupils had English as a second language, with 19% of those considered competent or fluent, and the remaining 81% categorized as new to English, early acquisition, or developing competence. The number of children new to English in Glasgow rose by 27% between 2020 and 2024, but the number of fluent English speakers increased by 32% in the same period. Interestingly, the number of children from overseas enrolled in Glasgow schools actually fell, from 3,917 in 2012/22 to 2,527 last year. A total of 147 languages are spoken by Glasgow's schoolchildren, and a council spokeswoman told the BBC: "Glasgow thrives as a city enriched by many different languages and cultures, and we proudly celebrate this diversity and the positive impact it brings to all our school communities."
Nationally, the picture shifts: only 10% of school-age children in Scotland do not have English as a first language, and of those, 41% are either competent or fluent in English. The debate over immigration and multiculturalism is therefore particularly pointed in urban centers like Glasgow and Edinburgh, where diversity is more pronounced.
Farage, for his part, appears undeterred by the backlash. As BBC Scotland's Phil Sim observed, Farage seems "quite comfortable straying onto what most would consider controversial territory, if it gets a rise out of his opponents and gets his party into the headlines." The Reform UK leader's strategy, Sim notes, is to burnish his anti-establishment credentials and keep immigration at the forefront of political debate, even though Holyrood has no power to legislate on the issue.
Meanwhile, the allegations about Farage's past continue to swirl. Peter Ettedgui, the Jewish classmate who first went public, told the BBC: "Well over 20 former Dulwich pupils have now spoken of Farage's vile racist, antisemitic behaviour. Each individual piece of testimony has been separately sourced by journalists working for several major news outlets and has been rigorously checked by lawyers. All these accounts paint the exact same picture of the teenage Farage. His and Richard Tice's denials today are as offensive as the original abuse."
As the dust settles, the controversy shows no sign of abating. Farage's denials, the passionate responses from rivals, and the debate over Britain's multicultural future ensure the issue remains at the forefront of public discourse. Whether this storm will ultimately harm or help Farage's Reform UK in the coming election remains to be seen—but for now, the nation's attention is firmly fixed on a political figure who, love him or loathe him, refuses to be ignored.
