Nigel Farage criticises Keir Starmer's Right to Switch Off plan

Nigel Farage has hit out at Keir Starmer for his party’s plans to create work-life balance for working people. 

Labour’s “right to switch off” would ensure that people do not routinely have to work outside of normal hours, or they could be entitled to compensation. A spokesperson for No10 has said that “a culture of presenteeism can be damaging to productivity” and that companies should maintain “flexible working practices”.

But in a video posted to TikTok, Farage calls it “a complete load of cobblers” before dispensing his own professional advice. “If you want to do well in life and succeed, believe me, you’ve got to work hard,” he says. “You’ve got to get out of your house, meet people, do stuff and if necessary work late into the evening.” 

Interesting, considering Farage is a famous wine-at-lunch man. He once told the FT that in his City days, he and his colleagues would return to the office “all crimson” after necking port at Simpson’s Tavern. He described afternoons at work as “chaos” and recalled that there was once a “really big cock-up”. When he explained to his boss that it happened at four thirty in the afternoon, they responded, “Oh, well there we are then”. 

Since then, the Reform leader has become a capable drinker on the job. He used to down “a couple of stiff ones” before TV debates and claims that he sometimes presents his GB News programme “half pissed”. But the advice for his TikTok followers? “You want to be successful? work hard. You want to fail? listen to our new prime minister.”