Reform strategist Gawain Towler on UKIP, Nigel Farage, and Brexit
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- Reform UK has five MPs in parliament. It was founded in 2021 as a relaunch of the Brexit party. There were moments in the general election when it was neck and neck with the Conservatives. Political correspondent James Heale is joined by Gawain Towler, Reform insider and former director of communications for UKIP. He shares the highs and lows for the party over the years, and explains how it went from a Brussels insurgency in the 1990s to a fully-fledged political force, with five MPs returned in the 2024 general election and over 4 million votes. Does he think Nigel Farage has been the most influential politician of the last 20 years? Will Reform UK maintain its influence? And, how integral was booze to the UKIP image?
// CHAPTERS
00:23 - Gawain Towler’s career biography
08:28 - Relationship with Nigel Farage
15:14 - How did UKIP change in the early years?
17:42 - When did people start taking the party seriously?
21:00 - The five years up to 2016, and getting Brexit over the line
27:23 - How did you get the line right between serious politics and fun?
35:57 - The night of the Brexit referendum
52:34 - UKIP re-emerges as the Brexit party
59:25 - The influence of Nigel Farage outside of parliament
01:00:53 - Current Reform MPs in the House of Commons
01:08:59 - What’s next for Gawain Towler?
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One of the best interviews l have watched in a long time.Gawain will be an asset to Reform UK in the coming weeks , months & years .
Vote Reform
What a fascinating interview, I congratulate whoever arranged this.
What a superb interview. what an impressive character Gerwain Towler is. A real person who speaks for me when I thought I was the only one. So good to hear.
Brilliant.
Desmond Haley
Excellent interview. Had a pint with him during 2013 county council campaign, a force for good. Loved the observation about English rebellions being conservative.
Fascinating. Excellent insights.
Never come across this chap before I saw that short Spectator release that Reform had fired him. Seemed an interesting bloke. I found this one of the most fascinating Spectator interviews I’ve yet seen. Would love to see you either have him on more regularly, or to see him contribute to the Spectator.
Intresting he said Ukip was working with Hope not Hate.
Humour is so important. Great interview.
What a fascinating and superb haircut Mr Towler! Thank you for this Spectator!
Great interview!!
Such good jounalism.. I swear, we woule be lost without this magazine.
Wow…. I could listen to this guy all day… 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
That was a really good watch. Thank you.
amazing interview !
Very informative ~ ~ Thanks for this interview.
What an entertaining informative interview. Excellent.
Interesting and entertaining interview.
Excellent talk. Bang on! No-one wants a body of people that speaks the truth as it destroys those that are on the make/take! How well that has worked. Nothing of good comes without a fight. Always question the “tell them all what they want to hear” nonsense as anything that’s worth doing is tough!
Brilliant and interesting interview. Thanks.
A star is born.
this is quite the interview.
Excellent!
I like the cut of his jib!
Having a pint or 8 with him and Farage would be a good laugh..
Gawain has been very brilliant for years and a very very switched on character and very shrewd comms man. Always admired him and especially in the days of Sam who went down and dies way too early of bowel cancer. Sam and I were both victims of the same disease and we were in regular contact. My cancer discovered slightly earlier stage and I’m still her after 3 separate bouts and some major surgery. Always remembered the days when Sam and Gawain on that Welsh beach with Sam trying to climb off. Think that was 2014/15 and very sadly UKIP and his family lost Sam
VOTE REFORM
Reform bot^
Very good.
Interesting interview, especially his views on Gerald Batten. Gerald Batten was a man of the people, the voice of the people when he was leader of UKIP. I joined UKIP after Gerald Batten because I really liked the integrity and open heartedness of Gerald. When Nigel, the media and some people in UKIP stood against Gerald, I stayed. Then when they stood against the new leader Richard, after that, enough of UKIP, and left. A lot of other people left at that time too including people that were running branches.
So many colourful phrases! Marvelous, fascinating man.
He is an impressive man. So, why was he sacked?
i'm enjoying this.
Very interesting.
Everything the BNP predicted has come true.
What a stylish articulate gentleman.Why on earth has Reform sacked him .We need authenticity and truth in politics.
34:58 "we worked with Hope not Hate"
My lovely, local village pub was once home to everyone in the village, from the working man to the country squire. All and anything was discussed over a drink of your choosing, from the price of cabbages to the condition of potholes to who to vote in at the council elections and the general election. All gone now to entertain exclusive cuisine.
James enjoyed this 😂 his laugh is too funny
Governments have been trying and succeeding in destroying Pubs and Working Mens clubs all of my life , and I am 84. Tax upon Tax , a burden most retiree's cannot afford. How much of the agenda has been pushed by the NHS , with constant claims of cancer , brain shrinkage etc. Speaking as an old guy , what is worse , dying alone and being bored to death , or having a midday pint and and a game of cribbage. That question as most of that type will not be answered.
he's a good man
The BNP had a legitimate right to stand for what they believed in and calling them names was pathetic. If you didn't support their right to compete in elections, then it meant you did not support democracy. Much of the hated was class snobbery. BNP members were often low paid hard working types. They had a right to feel pissed off. One time a poor mentally ill girl was banged up in prison without trial over Christmas over alleged speak crimes on London Transport. I was heartened by the kind lads at the BNP and how they supported her. They had better morals than their critics, who were often hypocrites.
Adroit and interesting interviewee. Hugely competent guy…. Pity I’ve only just heard of him… 🤔
Is Towler being replaced by a 25 year old with a communications degree? I hope they can keep him in the fold. His knowledge and enthusiasm are irreplaceable
Amen. Labour and Conservative have become the uni-party. United against the wishes and interests of the public at large. The standard of living (which is not just spending power) for the average person is far worse now than it was in the early 90s. Both Labour and Conservative agreed it was a great idea to give away the vital strategic asset of Diego Garcia and they didn't even get a bag of beads for it. They both agreed to invite in vast numbers of people from regions that have normalised sexual assault on young girls. Made a virtue of inviting in people of categories known to commit crime at high rates in every country they have been imported to. Labour and Conservatives are not working for the benefit of the average indigenous person.
On October 10th there were 17 local Council by-elections in England. All 17 were contested by the Conservatives. Only 3 were contested by Reform. The Conservatives won 8 of the17. None were won by Reform. Reform has a long way to go before it catches up with the Conservatives and, on this showing, it’s not looking good for Reform in next year’s local elections. Reform might have 90,000 members but it seems they have great difficulty in persuading them to stand in local elections.
BUT, if one looks at the results on Conservative Home, whilst Reform UK didn't win, they gained wherever they had a candidate.
Labour's awful tenure has already made voters move around with Tories, Greens, Lib Dems and Reform all gaining votes whilst Labour are losing voters.
The next election, like the last one, will see more parties gaining traction whilst the 2 usual ones losing influence.
It's very difficult to get people to stand in elections. It's even more difficult to get people of the right calibre to stand
It may surprise him and other campaigners that many people would have voted to leave the EU irrespective of their campaigning.
I voted to leave in 1975 and again in 2016.
Politicians exaggerate their influence. Some people determine and decide things for themselves.
Pub - Public House, a house for the public.
oh Gawain... loved you years ago... good god
nice hair!
Hopefully THIS Gawain gets what he's searching for.
Farage is a kiss butt to Trump who in turn is a kiss butt to Putin. Ukraine was the deciding factor that changed my mind 360 degrees on Farage.
Never heard of this man
@@roders007 his job was press officer. He kept the spotlight on Farage and the cause, not himself.
They have a strategist!?
Timestamps
What about them?
42:47 what did the interviewer ask that resulted in it being censored????
I watched 74 minutes?
@stevewilliams8515 go to 42 minutes 47 seconds in to the video, the interviewer asks a question visible on screen but the audio for the question is cut.
What is with the English hair
floppy!
What is it with hair fetishists?
I'm afraid I see Farage as weak and a massive let down, I've had my reservations about him for a few years but that interview with Steven Edgington was the final straw. The man is spineless.
Unfortunately if he said what Edgington wanted him to,the media would be savage and it would have followed him for years.
But I can't think of anyone else who thinks the way millions of politically homeless people do.
One thing he isn't is spineless,but I understand your disappointment.
Intresting this gentleman said Ukip was working with Hope not Hate...
@@evolassunglasses4673 Are you even surprised at this point? It was clearly more important to get rid of the BNP than anything else at the time given they talked about certain forbidden topics. If Farage had been genuine it would have been acceptable but the man then rolled out his super diverse candidates during an election and also did a 180 and started talking about how we didn't need EU workers as we could get them from former colonies. The man lied to people and led them down the garden path long enough until we're sat here in a multicultural hell hole which in Farage's own words cannot be reversed. Cheers Nige!
@@Bobmudu35UK I don't buy that argument anymore, most people would support what Edgington suggested and who reads the 'media' anymore? Believe me I understand the wish for someone to come save the day but it won't be Farage, if he becomes PM (likely) he will just release the pressure from the pressure cooker and pacify people. Anyway, it's academic at this point, the chances of us not ending up a minority in this country within the next 2-3 decades are close to zero and our grandchildren will forever hate us for not doing something to stop it. We are living through the end days of Great Britain.
@@JagdgeschwaderX I'm not sure I trust Farage to stay the course as leader of Reform UK. He seems to get so far with a party and then loses interest and drifts away. Ok he stayed the course for the Brexit campaign but that was a different scenario. Just think he enjoys his 'freedom' too much.
His being fired means Reform will become another Tory or Labour nest of crooks 😢
G
Eugh, the interviewer comes across as so fawning. Makes me feel dirty.
Remoaners are!
He's not fawning, he's giving a guy room to talk who clearly doesn't need to be prompted. He's happy to spill his guts and Heale recognises that he just needs to facilitate that.
Oh dear! The kippers realy have taken over the Spectator! Sorry Nigel your donors can buy you a magazine but they can't buy you respectability. Same applies to Michael Gove.
I've always found calling people names almost transcends rational debate. You clearly are a master good sir.
Do you read the spectator? It's neo liberal not right wing , you sound like an idiot
Also kippers lol ukip isn't even a relevant party anymore , catch up
Are you a 6 year old?
@@tamil.f.3734 I disagree. Given that Farage and his advisers have been so consequential in the last 20 years their opinions need to be understood and given the credit they're due.
If Farage gets to be PM he needs this man as his spad ,no if or buts.
Showed this video to my boyfriend and now he's sure he can do it again too. I'm terrified, but it's going to be fun👅