'Mr Farage has not taken part in ‘behaviour code awareness training’ and has no intention of engaging with this woke scheme'
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has refused to take up anti-bullying training for MPs, which is designed to explain the rules around harassment and sexual misconduct.
The leader of the hard-right party has slammed the training as ‘woke’ and made clear that he has no intention of engaging with the training, the Times has reported.
The paper reports: “There are 637 MPs who have completed the course, according to figures published by parliament after the general election. An additional eight were on the waiting list, while five had not attended the training.
“Among those who have not taken up the offer is Farage, the leader of Reform and MP for Clacton. A spokesman said: “Mr Farage has not taken part in ‘behaviour code awareness training’ and has no intention of engaging with this woke scheme.”
In addition to Farage, two Conservative MPs, the former minister Neil O’Brien and Dr Caroline Johnson, and two DUP MPs, Sammy Wilson and Gregory Campbell, have also not taken up the course.
MPs found to have breached anti-bullying rules, can be sanctioned in a number of ways, including from being forced to apologise to a suspension from the Commons which, if it is longer than ten days, can trigger a by-election.
Behaviour in the Commons has come under increasing scrutiny recently, with bullying reported to be rife in the Commons. In October last year, Peter Bone was booted out of the then Parliamentary party, after a report found he committed acts of bullying and sexual misconduct.
Reacting to news of Farage’s refusal to engage with the anti-bullying training, one social media user wrote: “There has to be a point an MP not doing their job suffers disciplinary action – his whole style is ‘to bully’, to deflect, to run.”
Another added: “This sums up the dire state of the Reform UK Party and their attitudes.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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