Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.
First Minister John Swinney has criticised Nigel Farage for making what he described as racist remarks concerning schoolchildren in Glasgow. The Reform UK leader, in a campaign video, drew attention to the fact that nearly one in three pupils in the city speak English as a second language. Farage called this phenomenon a “cultural smashing of Glasgow” and expressed his view that it was unfair for taxpayers to support individuals whom he claimed entered Britain illegally. He also stated that his party intended to prioritise this issue in the upcoming election.
Responding to Farage’s statements, Swinney told BBC News that the comments were “quite simply racist” and rejected the notion that multilingualism posed any problem to society, instead describing it as beneficial and a reflection of the country’s diversity. He accused Farage of promoting racist views and urged voters to consider this carefully before supporting Reform UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also condemned Farage, calling him a “toxic, divisive disgrace” and criticised him for using children to foster division. Starmer suggested Farage aimed to distract from controversial pro-Russian elements within his party and accused him of focusing on grievance politics that drive societal discord.
Looking at the figures Farage cited in his video, they are derived from Scottish government data and are accurate in terms of the proportion of pupils with English as a second language in Glasgow. The data reveals that out of approximately 72,000 school-age children in Glasgow, 70% are native English speakers, while 29% speak English as an additional language. Among those pupils whose first language is not English, 19% are competent or fluent in English, whereas the remaining 81% are still developing language skills to varying degrees. Comparatively, other Scottish cities such as Edinburgh and Aberdeen have higher rates of English proficiency among pupils who speak English as a second language.
Glasgow City Council highlighted that the number of children new to English increased by 27% between 2020 and 2024, partly due to improvements in data recording, and fluent English speakers grew by 32% during the same period. The number of overseas children enrolled in Glasgow schools has declined from 3,917 in 2012/22 to 2,527 last year, and altogether, 147 languages are spoken by pupils in the city. A council spokesperson emphasised the city’s pride in its linguistic and cultural diversity. Across Scotland, about 10% of schoolchildren have English as an additional language, with 41% of those being competent or fluent speakers, while the rest are at earlier stages of language acquisition.
Farage’s campaign video linked the Glasgow language figures to “housing and better facilities” being offered to migrants, and referenced people arriving “on the back of lorries or across the English Channel by boat.” Farage has also faced criticism from former classmates accusing him of racist and antisemitic behaviour during his school years. One individual recalled Farage making deeply offensive remarks. In response, Farage denied ever racially abusing anyone and maintained at a recent press conference that he never made racist comments “in a malicious or nasty way.”
Despite immigration being a policy area controlled by Westminster and not devolved to the Scottish Parliament, Farage stated that Reform UK intends to make immigration a major issue in next year’s Holyrood election. This is expected to generate significant debate in the public and political spheres, even though elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will not have the power to legislate on immigration. For parties like the SNP, led by Swinney, opposing Farage serves both to position themselves against Reform UK and to marginalise Labour. Meanwhile, Farage appears willing to court controversy to gain media attention and bolster his party’s profile, seemingly prepared to endure political attacks if it keeps his subjects on the agenda
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
Auto Amazon Links: No products found. Blocked by captcha.