Does Nigel Farage have a problem with women?
When Nigel Farage told a journalist this week she should “write some silly story … and we won’t bother to read it”, it provoked an instant – and divided – reaction.For some it was a “masterclass” in dealing with mainstream media, but for others it was “rude, dismissive, misogynistic, arrogant”.Behind the scenes, Farage’s treatment of the Financial Times’s Anna Gross – which was met with mirth and applause among Reform diehards in the room – provoked disquiet and anger among lobby journalists across the political spectrum.As the Reform UK leader was leaving the event, a Guardian political reporter suggested he had been rude and had upset the journalist.“Good,” Farage responded.
It is not the first time Farage has been accused of patronising a female journalist.When the former BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain asked him about the potential consequences of shooting down Russian planes last October, Farage responded: “Listen love, you’re trying ever so hard.” A month later he accused the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey of playing a “silly little game” when she asked who his chancellor would be.Amid a busy news cycle, his most recent condescension could have been easily forgotten.But in a week where Farage hired a hardline anti-abortion theologian as his head of policy and promised to repeal the Equality Act on his party’s first day in government, it has sparked the question: does Reform UK, and its leader in particular, have a women problem?Jane Martinson, the former chair of Women in Journalism, said the run-ins with female journalists were a clear example of Donald Trump’s influence.
“Nigel Farage is really offering a sort of Trump-lite for the British people, patronising a respected journalist and newspaper because he disagrees with its scrutiny,” she said,“This is all about ignoring the public’s right to know and trying to control your own message by turning on the messenger, especially if they’re just ‘silly’ women,”Reproductive rights and equality campaigners reacted in horror after Farage hired James Orr, a rightwing theologian who opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest or serious risk to health, to replace Zia Yusuf as his head of policy,The Cambridge University professor, who heads the Centre for a Better Britain thinktank, is an influential figure in Trump’s administration and is admired by the vice-president, JD Vance, who once described him as his “British sherpa”,Kerry Abel, the chair of Abortion Rights, said it was “an alarming moment for Britain” and accused Farage of “borrowing tactics from America’s culture wars”, especially in relation to anti-abortion ideology.
The hire came a little over a week after Matt Goodwin, Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, was accused of wanting a “Handmaid’s Tale future” after unearthed YouTube footage revealed he had called for “young girls and women” to be given a “biological reality” check,For Heejung Chung, the director of the King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Farage’s rhetoric around – and treatment of – women is part of a worrying trend that delegitimises discussion of gender inequality and women’s rights in a way that was “unthinkable” even five years ago,“It feels like a consistent and deliberate tactic,” she said,“I don’t think it’s that he’s an old-fashioned guy with questionable views, he wants to distract people into thinking their problems are because of women, or equality and diversity policies, or immigrants,Like Trump in America, it shifts the discourse, and that is very dangerous.
”There are signs that Labour, and others on the left, are willing to meet Farage on this battlefield,On Thursday, Keir Starmer said plans to repeal the Equality Act, which gives women extra protection in the workplace, were “shocking” and unBritish, arguing that Reform wanted to send women back to the “old days”,Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, described the attack on the 2010 legislation as “calculating, playbook, rage-bait politics” and bad economic policy,“The Equality Act gives the labour market more talent, which is good for productivity and good for growth,” she said,“What this is about is saying: ‘Here’s somebody to blame for why the world isn’t fair.
’ It is not saying: ‘How do we fix it?’”Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, called for a united front against the “nasty thread of misogyny” running through Reform UK,Farage was also a political risk, he said, noting that “Reform have already got a problem with women voters”,While it is true that Reform voters have skewed heavily male, there has been a shift,In the last election, 61% of voters who voted Reform UK were men, but on voting intention in 2026 that figure had dropped to 55%, according to polling from More In Common,Luke Tryl, More in Common’s executive director, said there was a “Reform seesaw” among women who expressed support for the party, with those in focus groups voicing concerns about the risk of backing Farage, while also showing interest in the radical change they thought his party could bring.
Farage should be wary of comparisons to the US president, with polling showing that 25% of women considered Farage’s support for Trump as the top reason not to vote Reform, compared with 21% of men,Farage may also want to consider how he treats journalists at future press conferences,“Rudeness is a sort of thing that people do notice,” Tryl said,“It’s a sort of thing which, if it becomes a pattern, could go down badly,If you think about that seesaw, it’s all weighing down the side which says ‘this is too much of a risk’.
”Asked for comment, a Reform UK spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage treats all journalists equally,Scrutiny is a two-way street,”
Nvidia reportedly plans to invest $30bn in OpenAI’s next funding round
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Mind launches inquiry into AI and mental health after Guardian investigation
Mind is launching a significant inquiry into artificial intelligence and mental health after a Guardian investigation exposed how Google’s AI Overviews gave people “very dangerous” medical advice.In a year-long commission, the mental health charity, which operates in England and Wales, will examine the risks and safeguards required as AI increasingly influences the lives of millions of people affected by mental health issues worldwide.The inquiry – the first of its kind globally – will bring together the world’s leading doctors and mental health professionals, as well as people with lived experience, health providers, policymakers and tech companies. Mind says it will aim to shape a safer digital mental health ecosystem, with strong regulation, standards and safeguards.The launch comes after the Guardian revealed how people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews
West Virginia sues Apple over child sex abuse material stored and shared on iCloud
West Virginia’s attorney general filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing Apple of allowing its iCloud service to become a vehicle for distributing child sexual abuse material.The state alleges that the company facilitated the spread of child sexual abuse material by declining to deploy tools that scan photos and videos and detect such material in iCloud users’ collections.JB McCuskey, a Republican, accused Apple of prioritizing user privacy over child safety. His office called the case the first of its kind by a government agency over the distribution of child sexual abuse material on Apple’s data storage platform.“These images are a permanent record of a child’s trauma, and that child is revictimized every time the material is shared or viewed,” McCuskey said in the statement
Skiers stranded by California avalanche used iPhone SOS feature to seek help
California’s deadliest avalanche killed at least eight people in a ski group near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday. The six survivors used the iPhone’s emergency SOS feature to help first responders find them as they waited under a tarp and discovered some of the bodies, according to the Nevada county sheriff. Apple’s feature, introduced in 2022, allows users to text law enforcement, even if there’s no cell service or wifi by connecting the phone to a satellite.First responders reached the skiers’ location and learned of the six survivors based on conversations held through the feature, Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference on Wednesday.California office of emergency services law enforcement chief Don O’Keefe said his staff spoke with one of the stranded guides for more than four hours to relay information to the sheriff’s office, which was leading rescue efforts
US builds website that will allow Europeans to view blocked content
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Accenture ‘links staff promotions to use of AI tools’
Accenture has reportedly started tracking staff use of its AI tools and will take this into consideration when deciding on top promotions, as the consulting company tries to increase uptake of the technology by its workforce.The company told senior managers and associate directors that being promoted to leadership roles would require “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence, according to an internal email seen by the Financial Times.The consultancy has also begun collecting data on weekly log-ins to its AI tools by some senior staff members, the FT reports.Accenture has previously said it has trained 550,000 of its 780,000-strong workforce in generative AI, up from only 30 people in 2022, and has announced it is rolling out training to all of its employees as part of its annual $1bn (£740m) annual spend on learning.Among the tools whose use will reportedly be monitored is Accenture’s AI Refinery
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