Britain is at risk of tariffs from Donald Trump unless it eases its restriction on free speech, Nigel Farage has warned. The Telegraph has more.
The Reform Party leader, a close ally of the US President, suggested that the nation’s free speech “problem” could put it firmly in the crosshairs of the White House.
The Online Safety Act, which regulates online speech, will likely be part of the conversation Sir Keir Starmer has with Mr Trump when he travels to the White House next week.
Asked if Britain is at risk of tariffs from Mr Trump on the basis of free speech before his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Washington DC, Mr Farage said: “Of course, there are senior members of his Government deeply critical of Britain, Elon being one, Vance by implication, who pretty much on the stage said that.
“Vance just said, we respect countries that control their borders, we respect countries that have free speech, we respect countries that believe in sovereignty. That’s quite an interesting cocktail.
“Sovereignty, you could say we took that box with Brexit, whereas the EU does not but on the others we’ve got a bit of a problem.”
Mr Farage hailed Elon Musk as a “hero of free speech” at CPAC on Thursday, despite the tech billionaire calling for his removal from the leadership of Reform.
The tech billionaire, a key ally of Mr Trump, turned on the Reform party leader earlier this year after Mr Farage distanced himself from Tommy Robinson.
Speaking at CPAC, the leading conservative convention in Washington, Mr Farage said: “I think he’s a hero, because if you remember 2020, in November, you couldn’t say anything about the conduct of the election in this country.
“You then couldn’t say anything about vaccines, about lockdowns, without social media closing you down. And then along came the hero of free speech, Elon Musk.”
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Please do it, Trump. Please put the most brutal tariffs on Britain if our tyrannical totalitarian bureaucracy refuses to allow free speech.
I beg you.
I agree.
Even though I live in Britain and as a result I would be directly affected by these tariffs, this government needs to be told, clearly and loudly, that it is considered by the US a tyrannical, totalitarian bureaucracy, run by a bunch of loathsome ideologues.
Intriguing prospect of the Right sort of American Affirmative Action.
Bring it on.
I guess this woman, who happens to be a U.S Senator, is exercising her right to free speech, but to say she’s mad as a badger would be the understatement of the century;
”When I first saw this footage, I wasn’t sure if it was a scene from the 1976 film “The Exorcist”.
Sadly, it seems it was Senator Machaela Cavanagh speaking from the Canadian Parliament.
Clearly, she is either being remotely controlled or is very mentally ill.
God help us all.”
https://x.com/OlooneyJohn/status/1893050680648098088
A complete nutcase.
Certifiable.
Unbelievable!
I’m just aghast at how some people seem oblivious to just how deranged they come across to others. It’s like they’re completely devoid of any self-awareness, therefore are impervious to feeling embarrassed or humiliated.
That is absolutely hilarious and of course disturbing.
Some of the comments are hysterically funny.
She should be certifiable. A raing nuttet
Should read raving nutter!!!
Is that your Thai coming out?
Plastic people’s man Farage acknowledges that the US might have a point in the European shutdown of free speech. Where is our Trump? Where is our JD Vance? Because Reform, sure as hell, is neither.
Apparently Farage should be looking over his shoulder as the Great Saviour – or Lying Oaf more accurately – is coming to save the Tory party from Reform ignoring that he is currently not an MP. No doubt the idiots that make up the Boris Johnson fan club will be thrilled but the Conservative Home bloke on GB News quickly pissed on the Oaf’s fireworks by pointing out that all of the MPs that would have stood aside for him to take their seat are thankfully gone. Then correctly further pointing out that only a complete idiot Tory leader would let the Oaf back into Parliament. And finally assuming the Oaf was back Reform could simply ask the Oaf about his scheme that delivered the immigration of a city every year under his stupid points stye that was typical of failure to do detail and thus missing the crucial fact that the Australian he based it on had an annual limit.
I don’t think many people understand tariffs – unfortunately many of them are in politics.
An import tariff is a CONSUMER TAX which is paid by the importer and becomes part of the landed cost of whatever – raw materials, component, finished goods. ( It is not a tax on the exporting Country – although D Trump Esq thinks it is. )
That cost is then passed along the supply chain, compounded at each level, to the end-user price. It is a tax on the consumer. (Repetition)
The purpose of a tariff is to protect the high prices of domestically produced goods (made by Government cronies) by removing the end-user price differential between an imported product and the domestically produced equivalent.
This is done at a cost to the consumer. Everybody is a consumer.
There are some – D Trump Esq – who believe that the way to avoid the tariff is not to buy the import and instead buy domestic. However a lot of imported stuff like steel for example is used in domestic production of goods, so cannot be avoided. In any case the domestic end-user price will be set to match the end-user price of the import – just as Sainsbury’s prices are set to match Aldi’s, so if the latter increases its prices, so will the former and vice versa.
The net effect is in two places. As prices go up, less gets bought of both imported and domestic produced goods. Less bought, less need be produced, fewer jobs required… job losses. Everyone in the import Country market gets poorer.
Since less import is bought, this reduces product shipped from the exporting Country and can have an internal economic effect, but exporters can redirect production to the domestic market or find other export markets.
So Mr Farage. If Trump puts tariffs on UK imported goods, that harms US consumers, it will have absolutely no effect on me or just about everybody in the UK and minimal effect on the British economy… which anyway has been destroyed by Labour so any effect Trump tariffs might have is moot.
Exports are a cost – British capital, labour, other resources, etc – A COST – with the benefit being taken by Johnny Foreigner abroad. The more we export the more it costs us. The benefit to us only is taken when we use the foreign currency earned to buy imports from that Country, and/or use it to invest in that Country.
Do note Mr F: if the UK exports less to the USA, the UK gets fewer $$$ to invest or spend on stuff from the USA – how does that benefit the US?
There are relatively few companies in the UK exporting to the US and none wholly reliant on exports to US or anywhere else for that matter. Only 4% of British companies export anything to the EU – so why prostitute the whole UK over a new “trade deal” with that sinking, rotting, economic hulk?
When a British company produces for export, that reduces the product available for the UK market. Reduced supply means higher prices – so not commonly realised is that exports are subsidised by domestic consumers.
Here endeth the Lesson. Ite missa est.
I’m not very well versed in this stuff but free trade has always made sense to me.
I did however see an interesting comment that you could replace income and sales taxes with tariffs which would leave people at least no worse off and protect domestic production.
Whether a tarriff affects conbsumer prices depends on elasticity of demand and available substitution.
Not necessarily made by government cronies but always made by domestic tax paying workers who also then buy other domestically made goods. So probably putting more back into the economy than imports do.
Trust me the Yanks could starve this country back into the Stone Age in a very short space of time. If you look at how utterly dependent this country is on the vicissitudes of what happens in America. Those American banks in London. You thought they would last forever. This country is destined to become the most isolated and desolate in the world. No friends left and not enough food. Cities that have become so nightmarish over the last few years that only the crazy and intrepid venture into them. No more women feeling safe. It is good to see a bit of skirt when you go out but they have even robbed us of that.
He knows exactly how to starve this country out and he feels very bitter and hostile given how the British have tried to assist in his downfall, the Steele dossier for example and the amount of energy and resources that the Labour Party put into supporting Kamala Harris, completely illegal of course. He needs to come down hard and punitive on the Brits. Really show them who’s boss.
I’d rather he attack our governments crazy net zero project and force us to drill baby drill
I seem to recall western governments sanctioning repressive regimes in the not too distant past.
I hope Vance tears Starmer a new arsehole for making Apple shut down it’s encrypted cloud storage. The government will be emboldened by this and go after all other encrypted services now.
I pray President Trump nails the Uk with tariffs. This country is now being run by a mafia of strangers. I would suggest people wake up, you are being led down a path to nowhere.