Reform seems intent on copying Trump

Reform UK MPs have called for a national debate on the death penalty following Axel Rudakubana’s sentencing for murdering three young girls in Southport. 

Eighteen-year-old Rudakubana was given life with a minimum of 52 years in prison for murdering 6-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July 2024.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order promising that Trump’s attorney general will seek capital punishment for “all crimes of a severity demanding its use”.

Speaking on LBC, Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice called for a “national debate” on the death penalty.

Tice said: “I don’t think we should be afraid of having a national debate on important big issues like this. I think that many people in the country would like at least a debate.”

Reform MP Rupert Lowe said it was “time for a national debate” on the use of capital punishment “in exceptional circumstances”.

Lee Anderson MP even called for the death penalty for Rudakubana, posting an image of a noose with the horrifying caption: No Apologies Here. This is what is required!

The last use of the death penalty in the UK was in 1964. When New Labour introduced the Human Rights Act in 1998, the death penalty was banned under UK law in all circumstances.

Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage has demanded that Crown Prosecution Service chief resign for failing to class the case as terrorism.

“This barbaric and senseless attack was clearly both political and ideological,” Farage said.

This is despite the prosecution clearly stating that the Rudakubana’s acts were not terrorism.

In response to Farage’s claims, Brendan Cox, campaigner and husband of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox shared a post on X, stating: “For anyone trying to use this trial to spread hatred on the basis of lies:

The Prosecutor: “There is no evidence that he ascribed to any particular political or religious ideology; he wasn’t fighting for a cause.” That’s not the defence’s case, its the prosecutor.”

After the horrific attack in Southport, Farage posted a video online speculating on the background of the alleged killer and also shared a conspiracy theory that “the truth is being withheld from us” by police.

He also repeated claims published on a fake news website amplified by Russian state TV, suggesting that Rudakubana was known to security services, a claim that was later proven to be false.

In August last year, Farage admitted he had spread misinformation at the time of the attacks. Yesterday, he once again told The Times that “the truth that we deserved to be rightfully told was withheld and that stoked the tensions in the country”, adding “I am owed some apologies”.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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