Labour’s Adam Thompson and Angela Rayner poked fun of Nigel Farage after the Reform leader claimed to have unearthed £7billion of savings when the real figure was 250 times lower
Nigel Farage’s dodgy maths has been brutally mocked at PMQs.
Labour MP Adam Thompson, a former teacher, drew laughs across the Commons as he highlighted an “awful” case where a 61-year-old man got his sums horrifically wrong. He demanded to know what the Government was doing to help adults learn maths after leaving school.
He then revealed he was talking about the Reform UK leader. Mr Farage came under fire after claiming to have unearthed £7billion of “wasteful” spending on diversity and equality programmes in Whitehall. But closer inspection showed the civil service actually spent £27million – 250 times less, the Commons heard.
The Reform leader looked sheepish as both Mr Thompson and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner poked fun of him. Ms Rayner showed it proved that Reform’s sums “don’t add up”.
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Backbencher Mr Thompson asked: “As a trained physics teacher and a former engineering lecturer, can I ask the Deputy Prime Minister what this government is doing to help people improve their math skills after they’ve left school?
“I came across an awful case the other day, a 61-year-old man who believes he counted up £7billion in government spending, but it was really only £27 million.
“What can we do to people like the leader of Reform UK, who evidently can’t add up.” Mr Farage, 61, watched on as the exchange unfolded.
Ms Rayner, who was stepping in for Keir Starmer as he was returning from the G7 summit in Canada, responded: “Mr Speaker, my friend highlights an important fact – Reform’s sums simply don’t add up.
“He’ll be pleased to know that we’re investing £136million for skills boot camps, and I will be sure to send the details to the honourable member for Clacton (Mr Farage).”
At the end of last month, Reform said cutting DEI programmes would make the massive saving. A spokesman for the party told The Times that the figure came from a review of spending carried out by the Conservative Way Forward group.
It also includes councils, school boards, universities and government grants to charities, the newspaper reported – and even that figure is under dispute.
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