THERE is a lot of ignorance, xenophobia and racism being dressed up as patriotism, with the weaponizing of flags, protests against asylum seekers, whipped up by the far right.

I have witnessed flags illegally put up on lamp posts and roundabouts painted. Whilst I am happy to see flags supporting events like the Olympics, sports or the Coronation, this current epidemic is costing the tax payer money to remove.

It’s also making many people in our communities feel uneasy, not only those of different ethnicities, but also those of other religions or sexual orientation.

Mr Farage is pointing to the cause of all our problems being asylum seekers. In a recent YouGov survey, 72 per cent of those who want to see mass deportation of illegal immigrants believe they outnumber legal immigrants. But that is not true.

The recent census show that out of a total population of nearly 70-million, over 10-million of UK residents are foreign born. Of those arriving by boat, 95 per cent apply for asylum, with most being successful, as the Home Office believes they are in need of humanitarian protection. However, they make up less than 30 per cent of the total number claiming asylum.

Immigration is not just about compassion. The only reason our population is not in steep decline is immigration. Refugees and migrants who come to Britain are often young, fit and ready to work – and this helps support our elderly population. Many become doctors, nurses and care workers, filling shortages in vital services like the NHS. Others contribute to industries facing a serious lack of workers, from hospitality and construction, through to logistics and agriculture.

Rather than work for better trading relationship with Europe, Mr Farage is plotting to remove us from the European Convention on Human Rights, which the United Kingdom played an important role in founding, with British lawyers drafting the text, and Winston Churchill a key early advocate.

This, I believe, would further undermine our rights, including the right to peaceful protests, which the Tories have already restricted in the 2022 Act.

Instead of creating policies to tackle the cost of living crisis and reduce energy bills with cheap renewables, Farage is aiming to make us ever more dependent on expensive fossil fuel imports and consequently at the mercy of Putin’s Russia.

Rather than helping to fix the NHS and social care, he plans to move to a US-style insurance based system – in turn lining the pockets of his billionaire friends, who have funded his party. Instead of working to help his constituents and the people of this country, he is more interested in cosying up to Donald Trump and talking Britain down, rather than being in Parliament representing the residents of Clacton.

We know what happens when cynical, opportunistic politicians seize on the struggles and the anxieties of ordinary people for their own selfish ends. We are the only party, with our liberal values and community politics, brave enough to stand up to Reform’s divisive politics.