Nigel Farage has been told to sack Reform’s Simon Dudley
Nigel Farage has been told to sack Reform’s new housing spokesperson Simon Dudley over his “disgusting” comments about the tragic Grenfell tower fire.
Dudley said that the Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people in 2017, was tragic but that “sadly, you know, everyone dies in the end”, before adding “It’s just how you go, right?”.
He added: “Extracting Grenfell from the statistics, actually people dying in house fires is rare… many, many more people die on the roads driving cars, but we’re not making cars illegal, so why are we stopping houses being built?”.
In the interview with Inside Housing, he also said that building safety regulations introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire were an example of “regulation which is not working”.
He also remarked that the “pendulum has just swung too far the wrong way” when it comes to building regulations, which he argued is stopping housing being built.
The regulations introduced safety measures including a ban on combustible cladding for buildings over 18 metres tall and a requirement for high-rise housing blocks to have a second staircase, to increase the number of fire escape routes.
Farage appointed Dudley, a former chair of Homes England as Reform’s housing spokesperson on 6 March.
Green Party MP Siân Berry said Farage must sack Dudley “for this disgusting outburst”.
Berry said: “Reform has sunk to a new low and shown a real disrespect to the victims of Grenfell.
“Anyone who has any awareness of what Grenfell residents went through, in fact anyone with any empathy or humanity, will find these comments truly abhorrent.
“That Reform would want to scrap key safety regulations brought in after the horrific Grenfell fires tells you everything you need to know about the party.”
Housing secretary Steve Reed also called for Dudley to be fired.
Reed said: “If Nigel Farage has an ounce of decency, he will sack his housing chief immediately.
“These disgraceful comments about those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire are beyond the pale and it is completely untenable for Simon Dudley to continue in his position.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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