EXCLUSIVE: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage whiled away several hours at Harry’s Bar in London’s Mayfair – while MPs debated the energy and vehicles taxation bill, which he previously branded a “lunatic green levy”
Grinning contentedly, Nigel Farage was spotted leaving a posh private members club this week – his third such outing in just one month.
But while Reform UK’s leader spent several hours at the exclusive spot on Wednesday afternoon, MPs debated the energy and vehicles taxation bill. In March, Mr Farage slammed Keir Starmer on the issue – branding his decision to hike electricity generator taxes a “lunatic green levy”.
Yet it seems Mr Farage had bigger fish to fry, as he was in the restaurant at private members’ club Harry’s Bar when the second reading of the long-awaited bill began at 2:38pm in the Commons. He is understood to have been at the venue in London’s Mayfair for a Jewish charity lunch from about 12.15pm, before being pictured leaving at 3.09pm. He was accompanied by four security guards and driven away in a Range Rover.
A Harry’s Bar membership will set you back £3,750 per year, plus a £1,850 joining fee. The club – a favourite of David and Victoria Beckham – features a top Italian eatery where diners can tuck into luxury dishes including £40 steak tartare, £32 thinly-sliced veal and £28 tomato salad.
Its website boaseds: “One of the most elegant and sophisticated private members’ clubs in London – Harry’s Bar is famed worldwide for..the beauty of its décor.” The dress code demands guests dress “elegantly”, and the wearing of leather garments and pale denim is strictly forbidden.
As well as appearing to skip the taxation bill debate, Mr Farage was earlier in the day slammed by Labour’s Richard Burgon for failing to attend a Westminster Hall debate on MPs acquiring second jobs. Mr Burgon said: “Can I just say – because it needs to be said – that I am disappointed that the Honourable Member for Clacton [Nigel Farage], the leader of Reform, is not here?
“On Monday, I wrote to him publicly, inviting him to come and explain why MPs should be allowed to rake in vast sums from second jobs. Yesterday it came to light that he has been getting paid £22,500 per hour promoting a gold dealer, which takes his second job earnings to approaching £2million in just two years since the General Election.”
Before heading to Harry’s Bar, Mr Farage attended Prime Minister’s Questions, where he sat next to Reform MP Lee Anderson. He nodded as Mr Anderson told the Commons about nurses being kicked out of an HMO and replaced with illegal immigrants. A short time later, he headed to the swanky club.
It’s not the first time the Reform UK leader has opted for fine dining over important political matters. Just last week, he was spotted attending a Brexit anniversary celebration at posh French eatery Saint Jacques as MPs debated defence spending.
His absence was criticised by Shadow defence minister Mark Francois, who said: “Perhaps we can achieve some consensus on this: yet again, we are debating defence, our armed forces, and the people who keep us safe, but the plastic patriots of Reform cannot be bothered to turn up. Does the honourable gentleman agree that people who wrap themselves in the flag should at least turn up to debate the future of the people whose job it is to defend it?”
And earlier last month, Mr Farage retreated to private members’ club Oswald’s after being booed in the Commons for urging supporters to react with “pure cold rage” over the murder of university student Henry Nowak. The club – a favourite haunt of Tory heavyweight Michael Gove and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – is renowned for its impressive wine bar and cigar terrace.
But as he took in the lavish surroundings, anti-racism groups voiced their fury after he claimed Henry’s murder showed UK police habitually discriminate against white people. Keir Starmer told MPs that Mr Farage had shown “exactly who he is” with his inflammatory remarks.
The PM added: “I’m really shocked that he [Mr Farage] pretends to have respect for Henry’s family. The grieving family have asked us not to respond in the way that the leader of Reform has responded. They’ve asked us not to. They have lost their son in the most appalling circumstances.
“They make a simple plea of us as human beings to please not exploit that. That is their plea to us, and we all need to reflect on the words of Henry’s father. My response and the response of others, to be fair, has to be focused on the lessons to be learned so we can deliver justice. His [Mr Farage’s] response has been to appeal for rage.”
Reform UK was approached for comment.