Nigel Farage Vows to “Go to War” with Teachers’ Unions After Schools Accused of Hiding Pro-Reform UK Votes

Nigel Farage has hit back at what he sees as an attempt to vilify Reform UK in classrooms, saying the party will “go to war against the teachers’ unions” if it gains the power to do so. His comments come after it emerged that the National Education Union (NEU) is planning to debate whether Reform UK should be explicitly called out in schools as a “far-right and racist” party.

Next month, teachers at the NEU’s conference will be asked to support a motion that calls for students to be taught about the “dangers” of backing Reform UK at the ballot box. The motion argues that Reform has “weaponized refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, and Jews” for political purposes and suggests the party gained its four million votes at the last General Election by running on an “anti-immigration platform.”

The union is also urging teachers to “educate and challenge” pupils who show an interest in what they describe as “racist beliefs and far-Right activity,” and to come up with anti-racist teaching resources specifically tailored for schools, reported GB News.

Reform UK, for its part, strongly denies any links to the far-right. The BBC has previously had to issue an apology after wrongly labeling the party that way in a report. Still, Farage is fuming over the NEU’s stance, claiming, “Reform is subject to endless propaganda at the hands of teachers.”

His colleague and Reform MP, Lee Anderson, wasn’t any more diplomatic. “The NEU has revealed its true colors,” he said. “By indoctrinating our youth, silencing free speech, and spreading hateful rhetoric, they have abandoned their legal duty of political neutrality.”

Ironically, the party appears to be gaining momentum among the younger generation. A poll conducted for the Mail on Sunday last month showed that nearly 30% of 16- and 17-year-olds would vote for Reform if the voting age was lowered. Mock elections held in schools also indicate a growing interest, with Reform reportedly securing 20% of the 70,000 votes cast in the Hansard Society and Association for Citizenship Teaching’s nationwide school election exercise.

In several regions like the West Midlands, East Midlands, and the East of England, student support for Reform was particularly strong, with around 25% backing the party—leaving the Tories and Lib Dems trailing.

Yet, some schools didn’t seem too keen to shout about the outcome. A pupil at an independent school in Bath claimed Reform had won their mock election, but staff never officially released the result. “It was common knowledge that Reform had won… so they just went quiet on it all,” the student said.