Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has mentioned his constituency fewer than half a dozen times in the House of Commons, DeSmog can reveal.
Farage has been criticised for making multiple trips to the United States since he was elected as the MP for Clacton in July 2024, as well as earning £970,000 from second jobs.
According to parliamentary records, Farage has only spoken 46 times in the Commons during the year, less than once a week. By contrast, his deputy Richard Tice has spoken 211 times and has mentioned his own constituency of Boston and Skegness on at least 25 occasions.
A version of this article was published by The Mirror.
MPs typically use their Commons appearances to lobby ministers on behalf of their constituents.
For example, Farage could have highlighted the risks posed by climate change in his local area. As DeSmog has reported, coastal Clacton is at risk from the consequences of rising temperatures, which include heavier rainfall and rising sea levels. Mapping from the science-based visualisation platform Climate Central suggests that substantial parts of the constituency will be at risk of yearly flooding by 2030.
The international journal Oceans and Coastal Management also produced a study in 2022 suggesting that the Tendring area, which encompasses Clacton, is exposed to sea level rises – potentially affecting hundreds of homes.
However, Farage claims not to believe basic climate science. Speaking at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in February, while admitting that he knew little about climate science, Farage claimed it was “absolutely nuts” for CO2 to be considered a pollutant.
Reform UK, which raised 92 percent of its funding prior to the 2024 general election from climate science deniers and major polluters, is actively seeking money from fossil fuel executives. The party campaigns to scrap climate policies, impose a “windfall” tax on clean energy companies, and ramp up fossil fuel production.
The New Economics Foundation has estimated that Reform’s anti-climate policies would cost 60,000 jobs and wipe £92 billion off the UK economy by the end of the decade. Clacton is particularly exposed to economic shocks, given it is one of the most deprived constituencies in England.
A poll by More in Common and the think tank E3G prior to the general election found that a majority (68 percent) of voters in Clacton are concerned about climate change.
Farage’s grasp of policy could have been limited by his lack of interaction with other policymakers in the House of Commons. DeSmog’s analysis of Hansard records shows that every current or former Reform MP (excluding recently-elected MP Sarah Pochin) has mentioned their constituency more than Farage, while only one – James McMurdock – has spoken less than the Reform leader.
Farage has made at least nine trips abroad – including eight to the U.S. – since he was elected to Parliament.
On top of his £93,000 salary as an MP, Farage earns £4,000 a-month for his column with the Daily Telegraph, and over £300,000 a year as a presenter at GB News.
“Over the last year, Farage has put his speaking tours of the U.S., his GB News show and various side hustles as a landlord, shilling for a climate science denial think tank and flogging nappies and tax-free gold, all ahead of being the MP for Clacton,” said Jolyon Maugham, Good Law Project executive director.
“It’s not so much Britain First as Farage First.”
A number of Clacton voters have noticed Farage’s absence. Speaking to The Mirror, local residents accused the Reform leader of “doing nothing” aside from “looking for photo opportunities”.
Despite his vocal opposition to climate policies, Farage has failed to raise his concerns in the Commons. Hansard shows that the Reform leader hasn’t once mentioned climate change or energy since his election, and has only mentioned the UK’s net zero emissions target on one occasion.
Farage has a long history of failing to perform parliamentary duties. While serving as a Member of European Parliament (MEP), he was a member of its influential fisheries committee, yet over three years turned up to only one of 42 meetings.
Reform was approached for comment.
A version of this article was published by The Mirror.
