Nigel Farage Declared Winner of UK Election Party Debate, Tory Rival Beaten Out by ‘None of the Above’

While others waxed poetic about the value and necessity of mass immigration, Farage blasted both major parties, saying: “Immigration makes us poorer and reduces our quality of life. It has nothing to do with race or any other issue. We need to get net immigration down to an even number over the next few years so that we can catch up on housing, healthcare and the economy.”

Penny Mordaunt acknowledged immigration is too high and said the party would eventually impose an annual cap, but refused to provide even a rough estimate of how many immigrants the Conservatives would continue to allow in each year, while Farage stood firm in his Reform UK Party’s position and vowed to reduce immigration to zero.

Mordaunt also drew condemnation from the entire debate panel after Chancellor Rishi Sunak found himself in the uncomfortable position of being forced to apologise for his decision to leave Thursday’s celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France early to return to London for a pre-election interview with ITV.

Plus, she spent much of the evening arguing with Angela Rayner, who also seemed to be struggling to craft arguments to fend off attacks from the left, particularly on the environment, NHS spending and Brexit, so she was no basking in the glory.

But Mordaunt’s main struggle in the debate was her party’s dismal record, rather than any personal rhetorical missteps. She had sought to warn people of the dangers of voting Labour, including high taxes and high immigration, but her side was exposed on the right as Farage went after the failures of governments on both sides of the aisle.