LONDON – A political firestorm is engulfing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, as decades-old allegations of racist and antisemitic behaviour during his school years threaten to undermine his bid for power. The controversy draws direct comparisons to the "Access Hollywood" scandal that failed to derail Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Allegations from the Past Surface
For days, a major controversy has raged in the United Kingdom surrounding Farage, the leader of the populist Reform UK party, often seen as Britain's equivalent to the MAGA movement in the United States. The scandal centres on his time as a student at Dulwich College in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Nearly 30 former schoolmates have come forward to assist an investigation by The Guardian and the BBC. Their accounts paint a disturbing picture of Farage's alleged conduct as a youth.
The reported incidents include Farage allegedly telling Jewish students that "Hitler was right" and saying "gas them." He is also accused of making hissing noises, reminiscent of Nazi gas chambers, at young Jewish pupils. Southeast Asian students were reportedly called racial slurs like "wogs" and "Pakis" and told to "go home."
Most shockingly, Farage is alleged to have taught younger military cadets a vile song with the lyrics: "Gas em all; Gas em all; Gas em all; And into the showers they crawl; We'll gas all the n-----s; We'll gas all the Jews; Come on you lads gas em all."
Farage's Response and Political Fallout
Facing the allegations, Farage held a press conference on December 4, 2025, where he railed against his detractors. He denied wrongdoing but also argued that if he did say anything bigoted, it was merely "banter" – a defence reminiscent of Trump dismissing his "Access Hollywood" comments as "locker-room banter."
Farage stated he would "never directly hurt anyone" and has threatened to boycott the BBC. His lawyers have sent threatening letters to media outlets, but the scandal continues to grow.
The timing is critical. Before the Dulwich story broke, Farage's Reform UK party was far ahead of the governing Labour Party in polls reported by Politico. While the party's support has slipped only slightly since, Farage's personal approval ratings have dropped more significantly. This could be an ominous sign for a politician previously seen as coated in "anti-woke Teflon."
Will History Repeat Itself?
The central question now is whether British voters in 2025 will react as many American voters did in 2016 – with a collective shrug. The Access Hollywood tape, released in October 2016, featured Donald Trump making blatantly misogynistic comments, yet he narrowly won the presidency a month later.
Nick Hearn, a conservative banker who attended Dulwich with Farage, described his former schoolmate as "personal and vindictive" towards minorities. This characterization echoes the personal attacks common in today's political landscape.
As the scandal shows no sign of abating, it remains to be seen if these allegations from the 1970s and 80s will fatally wound Nigel Farage's drive toward 10 Downing Street, or if, like his political counterpart across the Atlantic, he will emerge politically unscathed.
