Nigel Farage defends permitting US chlorinated hen into UK as a part of commerce deal

[ad_1] Nigel Farage has defended permitting labelled chlorinated hen from the US into the UK as a part of a commerce deal, as a ballot instructed his Reform UK get together might be heading in the right direction to take the best variety of seats at a basic election.

Talking earlier than the native elections in England on 1 Might, Farage stated British customers already ate hen from locations similar to Thailand reared in poor situations, and accepted chlorine-washed lettuce.

He advised the Sunday Instances: “In case you have a have a look at the hen we're presently importing from Thailand, you have a look at the situations they’ve been reared in, and that each single bag of pre-made salad in each single grocery store has been chlorinated … as soon as these fundamentals have been accepted I’ll have a debate with you.”

Requested how he would forestall British hen farmers being undercut by low cost producers from the US, he stated: “I need to promote British farming as being a high-end product. I believe the expansion of farmers’ markets, they're a way more discerning viewers that desires to know the place their meat comes from. I don’t suppose British farmers have something to worry from this long run.”

Each the federal government and the Conservatives have objected to US calls for for its producers to have the ability to promote hen with decrease welfare requirements within the UK. Britain doesn't permit imports of merchandise similar to chlorine-washed hen and hormone-injected beef and Donald Trump has been pushing for agriculture to be a part of a commerce deal if the UK desires tariffs to be lowered on its exports similar to automobiles and metal.

Within the interview in Lancashire, the place Reform is difficult each the Tories and Labour for council seats, Farage additionally spoke about his rift with Trump’s adviser the US billionaire Elon Musk, who had been pushing for him to take a tougher line on immigration and assist the far-right determine Tommy Robinson.

He stated he had been in touch with Musk since their spat on X, however added: “I’ve fought towards this for 25 years. You may’t bully me, I do know what I believe is correct and what I believe is flawed. No one pushes me round – not even him.”

Reform is hoping to take a whole bunch of seats off the established events on the native elections, with a three-way break up within the polls between Farage’s get together, Labour and the Tories.

Keir Starmer’s Labour is narrowly forward in most surveys. Nonetheless, an MRP ballot by Extra in Widespread discovered this weekend that Reform might win extra seats than the opposite events at a basic election even when it has a barely decrease vote share.

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The ballot constituency-level splits surveyed 16,000 individuals, with its mannequin suggesting 180 seats for the Reform get together on 23.7% of the vote, 165 for the Tories on 24.3% of the vote and 165 for Labour on 24.5%. It indicated 67 seats for the Lib Dems on 13.3% of the vote and 35 for the SNP on 2.2%.

Its modelling instructed that if a basic election had been held now then Labour might lose 246 seats, together with 10 cupboard ministers, with losses to Reform within the ”crimson wall” and Welsh valleys, and to the SNP in Scotland.

The ballot additionally indicated Labour was being squeezed from either side, with progressive voters seeking to the Lib Dems, Greens and independents inflicting seats to be misplaced to the correct.

The polling suggests the principle events might be heading in the right direction for tough native elections on 1 Might, though they're exhausting to forecast on account of the usually low turnout.