Nigel Farage called for schools to teach ‘trades and services’, as he spoke at the Reform UK conference earlier this month.
The party, which met for its conference on 5 and 6 September at the NEC near Birmingham, has not yet drawn up a detailed slate of policies. However Mr Farage gave a sense of some of his priorities, saying: ‘Let’s start teaching kids at school trades and services. One thing that AI will not replace is the local plumber. They’re going to make a fortune in the years to come.’
He also touched on the way history is presented in schools, saying: ‘We refuse to acknowledge publicly the Judeo-Christian culture and heritage that we have, and that unpderpins everything that we are. We refuse to have our kids minds poisoned in schools and universities with a twisted interpretation of the history of these amazing islands. We will not stand for it.’ This echoed a Reform UK policy from the last election, when they pledged to introduce a ‘patriotic’ curriculum in schools.
Elsewhere at the conference, the party’s chief whip Lee Anderson said they would tackle the ‘brainwashing’ of children. Speaking at a fringe event, he said: ‘Whether you like it or not, there are some teachers in our schools ‘ brainwashing our kids into their way of thinking. And when we get into power, we will root these teachers out and hold them to account.’ Meanwhile in an interview ahead of the conference, deputy leader Richard Tice claimed some parents were ‘using and abusing’ the SEND system. Speaking to reporters he said: ‘There are many children who need extra provision, but I regret to say there are some parents who are using and abusing the system and we have to be honest about that……Some parents they want to save themselves the opportunity to get up in the mornings, set the alarm and crack on and drive their children to school.’
Greensheets will have news from other parties’ conferences in the coming weeks.