IT is barely gone 11.30am and Nigel Farage is already clutching a pint.
Not an unusual sight for the man once forced to clarify that he is “a boozer, not an alcoholic”.
Nigel Farage enjoys a pint at the Talbot pub in Blackpool[/caption]
Farage drawing a crowd as he arrives at the boozer[/caption]
Fans gather round to listen to his opinions during an interview with The Sun[/caption]
But today’s glass of “Remainer tears” — the name plastered on the tap from which the beer was poured — will taste particularly sweet, for he is drinking it in Britain’s very first “Reform pub”.
The Talbot in Blackpool used to be associated with the Conservative Party, but, like so many people in the country the landlord and his punters have switched allegiances.
Now it is Farage to whom they give a hero’s welcome as he and his entourage sweep into the seaside town on an overcast Thursday morning.
Dozens of mostly middle-to-older-aged men, many sporting Reform’s turquoise ties, have gathered to see the closest thing they have to a political rock star.
A beaming Farage enters the venue to a wall of cheers, then the usual scrum for handshakes and selfies begins.
So does he regard himself to be the ultimate man of the people?
More so than, say, Sir Keir Starmer?
“Politicians invent myths of who they are to try to sell themselves to the public,” he tells me.
‘I am deeply worried’
“I never do any of that. I’m just as I am.
“Quite frankly, I don’t care whether people like me or don’t like me, but I think I’m able to go out and talk to everybody in a way that perhaps Sir Keir is not.”
Farage is certainly true to his word to be straight-talking as we tackle some of the UK’s most pressing problems.
I also appear to have a live audience for my interview, for the punters show no signs of going back to their drinks, instead cheering on their man as he gives his answers.
Our discussion comes in the shadow of the ugly riots in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
What began as a peaceful protest against two Roma teenagers accused of attempted rape has spiralled into nights of hate-fuelled violence.
Mr Farage confesses he is “deeply worried” that similar unrest could erupt across Britain, blaming decades of failure to control the nation’s borders and manage integration.
He claims communities feel “ignored” when voicing concerns about the strain mass arrivals place on crime rates and public services.
To raucous applause from the Talbot faithful, he declares that years of dismissing such grievances as “you’re a bad person” have turned the country into a pressure cooker.
Nigel pours a pint of ‘Remainer Tears’ at the Talbot pub in Blackpool[/caption]
“In the end, it explodes,” he warns.
“Nobody condones setting fire to houses and hunting down foreigners.
“But there was a population of people, the Roma people, that were put into Ballymena who cannot possibly integrate with the locals and have a completely different set of standards of life beliefs.
“Immigration only works if you have integration with it.
“If you don’t, you have a divide. And where human beings are divided, history teaches us, you get conflict.
“I am very, very deeply worried about what’s happening.”
Our conversation turns to comments made last year by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who sparked outrage by suggesting that “not all cultures are equally valid” in determining who should be allowed into the country.
While Mr Farage makes a catty joke that he has “never heard of” Ms Badenoch — a recent strategy to push her into irrelevance — he dismisses the notion of comparing cultures as a waste of time.
“Our culture is our culture. Whether it’s superior or inferior to Far Eastern culture or wherever else is irrelevant.
“It’s our culture. It’s what we know. It’s what we love. And we don’t want anybody from anywhere challenging it and threatening it.”
I ask about reports that white British children have now become a minority in some schools.
“It’s not about colour — it’s about do you fit in with the community,” he says.
‘Totally unfair’
He continues: “One of the reasons Reform is doing so well is because this party is framed around values: Family, community, country.
“If you get huge numbers of people coming in who have totally different value systems, it doesn’t matter whether they are white or black or Asian. That’s irrelevant. They’re not going to fit in.”
The topic shifts to illegal migration — comfortable terrain for the Reform leader, who launches into a devastating attack on Sir Keir’s approach to “smashing the gangs” and ridiculing Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ promise to end the use of costly hotels, albeit not for another four years.
Farage reminds me he first warned of an “invasion” in 2020, recalling the backlash he faced for taking to the Channel in a boat to highlight the surge of dinghies arriving in Kent.
“I was vilified. But 150,000 men later, I think I’m about right.”
Home Office statistics reveal a record 14,812 illegals arrived in small boats during the first five months of this year alone.
By comparison, in 2024, that figure wasn’t reached until July.
On Saturday, May 31, 1,194 migrants landed in England on dinghies — the highest number in a single day, obliterating the previous record of 825 set earlier in the month.
Immigration only works if you have integration with it. If you don’t, you have a divide. And where human beings are divided, history teaches us, you get conflict
Nigel Farage
Reform has pledged to deport “every illegal immigrant” in Britain, but the party has yet to convince the public it has a credible plan for achieving this.
When pressed on how Reform would succeed where both the Tories and Labour have failed, Farage replies: “Understand it’s not an easy thing to do. We’re giving it real, real thought.
“But be clear, no one who comes into Britain illegally should ever be given permanent leave to remain, should ever be going to the benefit system.
“It’s totally unfair to law-abiding taxpayers in this country. It’s also totally unfair to immigrants who come to Britain legally and spend a lot of money and time doing it.”
The answer seems good enough for the gathered voters who cheer their man as we wrap up our interview.
The moment the interview ends, Leah Pettinger, a 49-year-old service veteran from Barnsley, who is one of the attendees, presents her political hero with a portrait she did in her new life as an artist.
‘Common sense’
In the painting Mr Farage’s eyes are bulging out of their sockets because he has his “Eyes On The Prize” — the title of the artwork.
“I think he’s a man of the people,” she tells me. “He has spoken to a lot of ordinary people here today. He has pulled himself a lovely pint of lefty tears from the bar, which is fantastic.”
She is echoed by 76-year-old Jim Redgewell, a former Labour voter who has become a Reform fan.
“I was brought up to be a Labour voter, but life has taught me it’s not quite right,” he says.
I don’t mind where people come from, because I’m associated with all sorts of people. We want a safe country to live in, where we can trust the police
Jim Redgewell
“I don’t mind where people come from, because I’m associated with all sorts of people.
“You know, gay people, black people, Chinese. I don’t care where they come from, as long as they don’t harm the people that I know.
“We want a safe country to live in, where we can trust the police.”
John Ormston, the 55-year-old owner of Kodak Express Blackpool, experienced a similar political awakening — but in his case swapped sides from the Tories.
He says: “The Conservatives were given a massive mandate, Boris didn’t deliver, so like a lot of other Conservatives, we just fell out.
“It wasn’t conservatism — there’s not been conservatism for a long, long time, and I believe Nigel brings back not only the conservative side, but he also brings back common sense.”
As Mr Farage drains the last of his pint, the Reform faithful around him buzz with a sense of renewed purpose.
For many in that pub, he has not just aired their frustrations — he has voiced a worldview they felt had long been ignored.
Whether Reform can turn that raw energy into a Westminster government remains to be seen — but in the Talbot in Blackpool, the revolution was already on tap.
The Sun’s Noa Hoffman with Farage outside the boozer[/caption]
