Nigel Farage refuses to give up EU pension: 'Why should my family suffer?'
Former Ukip leader also claims he has 'done more than anybody in this country to stop the rise of the far-right'
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage has refused to give up his EU pension after Brexit, asking: “Why should my family and others suffer even more?”
The former Ukip leader was asked on BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show whether he would stick to his principles and turn down his annual MEP pension.
“All I can say is, given the arbitrary way the European Union behaves in terms of money, I’d be very surprised if I get any of it,” Mr Farage said.
Mr Farage is entitled to an estimated annual pension of £73,000, The Times reports. The 53-year-old would be able to claim the pension at the age of 63.
Pressed by host Andrew Marr on whether he would stick to his principles and turn down the pension, Mr Farage said: “I’m not going to get it anyway. So I don’t think this would even occur.”
When he was asked if he would take it, he said: “Of course I would take it. I’ve said that from day one. Why should my family and others suffer even more?”
Replying to accusations of hypocrisy, Mr Farage said: “It is not hypocrisy. I’ve just voted to get rid of my job. I was the turkey that voted for Christmas. How is that hypocrisy? If it was hypocrisy, I’d have said we should stay in the EU.”
Later in the show, Mr Farage defended Donald Trump retweeting Britain First, saying the US President “wouldn’t have an earthly clue” who the far-right group were.
He added: “Do I think those tweets were in good taste? Not particularly, no.
“But the point is the level of outrage from the liberal elite in this country is out of all proportion with what happened here. And every single time, the idea that should lead to half the Labour party saying he shouldn’t be allowed to come to our country frankly is ridiculous.”
When Mr Farage was asked if he was “getting too close to a dark kind of politics,” he said: “Do you know something, I believe I’ve done more than anybody in this country to stop the rise of the far right in Britain.
“I did it by taking away those people who were going out and voting BNP and holding their nose. So when it comes to dealing with the far right, I’ve got a very good track record.”
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