Nigel Farage accosted by angry voters on visit to meet "Workington Man"

6 November 2019, 17:06

Nigel Farage was accosted by two angry members of the public during a walkabout in Cumbria to meet "Workington Man".

The Brexit Party Leader has been on the election trail in Cumbria, the district .

Mr Farage was confronted by one man who accused him of profiting from the "politics of fear".

He is the first party leader to visit the region to meet "Workington Man", a phrase coined by right-wing think tank Onward.

They identified "Workington Man" as a key swing voter for the Tories ahead of the election on December 12.

He is described as a "middle England" voter who is an older, white, non-graduate man from the North of England, with strong rugby league traditions and a tendency to vote Labour.

Mr Farage claimed that the idea was "a load of patronising cobblers"during his speech in the Washington Hotel in Workington.

Mr Farage was later confronted again in the street, this time by Labour voter Karl Connor.

Mr Conner, who lives in the nearby town of Egremont, said: "We don't need you coming here. Why aren't you standing as a candidate?"

He also told the MEP that he spoke with men in his rugby club about the 2016 referendum.

Mr Conner told Nigel Farage: "The people in there thought they were going to take back control, thought it was about Islam, they thought it was about things that it was nothing to do with at all, and you're trying to profit from that politics of fear."

The pair were then separated by security guards.

However, Mr Farage also received a positive reaction from some voters.

Nigel Metcalf and his son John, who are lifelong Labour supporters and voted Leave in 2016, posed for a selfie with Mr Farage.

Mr Metcalf Sr said: "I think Nigel Farage has got exactly the right ethos and I'm certainly thinking of voting for the Brexit Party this time."

A woman also shouted "you've got my vote" as Mr Farage walked through the town.

The Brexit Party leader also made a speech at a party event in Workington.

He said: "In the past, you may remember Worcester woman was apparently going to decide the outcome of the election, and another one was Mondeo man, but this time, we're told, it's Workington man.

"Can I just say, this has all been dreamt up by a Conservative think tank in London. I think it's a load of patronising cobblers to people in Workington.

"You're going to get bombarded with press and political figures and I thought I'll come as quickly as I possibly can to lay my cards on the table and talk about this election."

Mr Farage's speech was interrupted midway through by a woman who shouted "fascist" as she left the room, followed by a woman wearing a "B******s to Brexit" T-shirt.