David Lammy has claimed that Vladimir Putin wants Nigel Farage to win the next General Election and divide Europe.
The Deputy Prime Minister spoke at a conference of European socialists in Amsterdam on Saturday, where he told those in attendance that Labour and its centre-left allies “are winning” in holding back right-wing populism around the world.
The Labour MP for Tottenham referenced former Reform UK leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, who was found guilty of taking money from the Kremlin.
He said: “Nigel Farage says he’s stunned by the fact his former party leader in Wales took Russian bribes. But we’re not stunned. Because the Kremlin has a proven track record of supporting the networks that want European unity to fail.”
Speaking to GB News earlier this year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage admitted he has “never liked Putin”, and more recently said he was “a very bad dude”.
The Clacton MP was previously accused of saying the West “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, blaming the “ever-eastward expansion” of Nato and the EU for giving President Putin an excuse to go to war.
He later clarified his comments and said: “Of course it’s [Putin’s] fault.”
Mr Lammy listed a range of right-wing political figures and activists, accusing them of creating an “international network” that are all “supporting each other”.
David Lammy has claimed that Vladimir Putin wants Nigel Farage to win the next General Election and divide Europe
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Mr Lammy said: “Right now the populist right, even as it champions barriers and borders, is organising and sharing more effectively as an international network than we are.
The MP added: “We all feel this stress and uncertainty because our people are suffering.
“And we all know they are looking both left and right for the change they crave. This means politics is wide open.
“Our polls are marked by extreme volatility at this point in the cycle – and those that are popular are those that offer change.”
Speaking to GB News earlier this year, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage admitted he has ‘never liked Putin’
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PA
The Deputy Prime Minister said that despite the British public voting for Brexit and leaving the EU, it did not mean that Britain is no longer European.
He argued that Labour’s 2024 General Election win was proof that the left cannot fail.
It comes as a fresh voting intention poll by Find Out Now put Labour in third place on 15 per cent, less than half the support for Reform UK on 32 per cent and behind the Tories on 17 per cent.
The Justice Secretary said: “We are here today because we cannot fail. We are in a race to shape the politics of the 21st century with the populist right.
Many within Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle hold a deeply anti-Western worldview that perceives Europe and the United States as antagonists in a geopolitical confrontation
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REUTERS
He added: “We are winning worldwide. In July last year, we won in Britain, with a historic majority that nobody ever thought was possible. Ending 14 years of Tory rule.
“Yes, the right has won elsewhere. But since then, we’ve kept winning. In April, we won in Canada, roaring back from deep mid-term lows.
“In May, we won in Australia with the same story. In September, we won in Norway, roaring back again from those mid-term blues.”
Mr Lammy concluded: “When Nigel Farage attacks, judges and mobilises grievances against the courts, this is his playbook.
“This is the price he would have us pay. That’s why in our elections, they shall not pass. Why in your elections, they shall not pass. Across Europe, they shall not pass.”
GB News has approached Reform UK for a comment.
