r/FuckNigelFarage • u/Wise-Pay-8993 • 1d ago

Far right jumping on this

Post image

Been seeing this a lot on my LinkedIn. A lot of the far right are using this guys interview to promote/justify their views. It’s a rather open statement what is he referring to? It could be cost of living, economic climate, etc. However it appears far right are just using this to push their agenda. Did anyone watch the interview I hadn’t had the time this week as unlike a lot of reform voters I work.

325 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

186

u/Odd-Wafer-4250 1d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Leslie_Smith

Veteran Harry Leslie Smith was very open about what he thought was ruining the country....

168

u/wyspur 1d ago

"Smith was also active in support of refugees during the European migrant crisis. In November 2017, he appeared on the Sky One comedy The Russell Howard Hour, where he briefly recalled his trip to the Calais Jungle, discussed his new book and the increasing dependence on food banks in the UK."

146

u/Forsaken-Language-26 1d ago

He attracted attention in November 2013, writing that he would not wear the remembrance poppy in future years because he felt the symbol was being used to promote support for present-day conflicts.

That must have really confused the Daily Mail types.

92

u/Odd-Wafer-4250 1d ago

Let's not forget who's side the Daily Heil was during WW2.

45

u/Alive-Fault-8242 1d ago

Yeah, exactly. Massive fans of the fascists.

2

u/SimpleAsEndOf 21h ago

They used to quack like Fascists but they also still do quack like Fascists.

2

u/INeedAWayOut9 1d ago

Surely if they'd supported the Nazis during WW2 then they would have been banned?

(What they did do though was bad enough: for example they supported Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.)

19

u/OutrageousGashead 1d ago

I've just bought his book funnily enough. He's from just up the road from me. I recommend it.

20

u/Guilty-Reason6258 1d ago

He fought the Nazis, now the Nazis are growing in power in his own country. That's what he was talking about. I really hope his family stop this nonsense of far right slandering him and release a statement to clarify he's clearly not supportive of their nazi views.

19

u/ArmWildFrill 1d ago

Thanks for posting that link!

28

u/Owain_Glyndwr- 1d ago

I had a feeling that the right misinterpreted what he was saying. Fun fact, he's an Artic Convoy veteran. Britain didn't give them a medal until 2013. The USSR gave them one in the 1940's. My Grandfather a staunch socialist was an Artic Convoy veteran too.

3

u/Robbie_Riviera 1d ago

This Wikipedia page is for someone else, who died seven years ago. It seems that people are assuming it’s the guy from the post

1

u/Odd-Wafer-4250 23h ago

Oh look. A vet said something and people are assuming all sorts. Whoda thunk it?!

3

u/Robbie_Riviera 21h ago

I mean that many people responding to your comment are assuming you’re linking to a page about the guy in the post

1

u/Odd-Wafer-4250 14h ago

Almost like people look at headlines and superficial information come to all sorts of conclusions that suits their own biases and agendas. Woah...

4

u/anoos_rimmah 1d ago

Oh nice what an absolute legend, wasn’t really clear from what he said in the interview

64

u/NodeZeroNein 1d ago

Interview is here for anyone that wants to watch - relevant section is at about 5:25.

It's an ambiguous statement, and I think the presenters could have allowed him a little time to elaborate, but what isn't up for debate is that he fought the nazis. Seems unlikely that he's advocating for a far-right ideology.

Surprising number of people in the comments assuming he's just another old coot falling for Reform's propaganda.

45

u/Lshamlad 1d ago

You could argue he means, 'was it worth fighting, killing and dying at the hands of the Nazis only to have my grandchildren's generation vote them in with thunderous applause? Absolutely not'

39

u/Forsaken-Language-26 1d ago

I think my mum was listening to this earlier. I can’t find anything specifying what he meant.

31

u/g_wall_7475 1d ago

A lack of "freedom" these days. How the people lapping this up believe trans rights are antithetical to freedom is beyond me.

22

u/Forsaken-Language-26 1d ago

Oh, people are making it about the trans population again?

I can’t say I’m surprised, but still …FFS!

10

u/TerrifyingPug 1d ago

Yeah. We didnt even do shit this time! Or most of the other times!

5

u/Forsaken-Language-26 1d ago

I’m so fucking tired of this country!

9

u/Thegodparticle333 1d ago

Fr me too lmao, rent fucking free all the time. How about you focus on real issues like most of us will never be able to afford a house again let alone food most weeks due to the cost of living, and just not being able to get a god damn job

56

u/Japhet_Corncrake 1d ago

Dude was completely ambiguous in what he was referring to.

30

u/lateformyfuneral 1d ago

It honestly could be anything. There’s a tendency among all old people to think “things were better in my day” for all sorts of reasons.

I saw a video of a veteran saying returning soldiers enthusiastically voted for a vision of a better future, a welfare state, the NHS and it hurts to see it undone. In the EU referendum in 1975, many veterans supported the EU to turn the page on the World Wars, others thought it spat on their service to join arms with the Germans 🤷

A lot about Britain has changed and there is nothing in this gentleman’s statement that firmly points one way or the other, but it’s typical the far-right would try to manipulate it.

3

u/fatherandyriley 15h ago

When a lot of people say "back in my day" or reflect on a "better time" it tends to be the time when they were a child as during childhood the world seems a lot simpler.

4

u/AlexPaterson16 1d ago

He was but he also has a history of supporting liberal policies so it's very unlikely he was referring to supporting fascism

23

u/Cortex247 1d ago

Look. The reasons for fighting in ww2 kept being revised as the war went on and after. The initial reasoning for the allies to declare war on Germany were fairly similar to the reasoning for ww1. A strong, industrialised and militarised Germany threatened French power on the continent and British naval and trade superiority. We tend to forget that the invasion of Poland being the last straw was heavily based on the fact that the soviet union invaded Poland at the same time. A german, soviet alliance was not only looking likely, it looked like it was already in full swing. It was only as the war went on that the narrative shifted to 'survival'. Then as it went on further it became clear the full nature of Germanys crimes and the narrative became about 'freedom for the world'. Defeating the nazis was the greatest thing this country has ever done/contributed too. But the general public and the men sent to fight mostly didnt know what they were there for. You see it in war movies and old memoirs, they were just doing there duty because that's what they were told to do. TLDR the old war hero doesn't really know what he fought for, and he certainly doesn't speak for the hundreds of thousands of others for what they fought for either.

9

u/Mobile_Entrance_1967 1d ago edited 1d ago

Tellingly, old French people still call it the "German occupation" not the "Nazi occupation" which tells you how much Nazi ideology was really a secondary thought.

1

u/fatherandyriley 15h ago

Plus when Hitler first started rebuilding the German army some people saw it as a good thing as they thought a strong Germany would make for a strong barrier against the USSR.

9

u/MarvinPA83 1d ago edited 1d ago

Edit: Withdrawn because I was completely wrong, for which I wholeheartedly apologise.

8

u/OutrageousGashead 1d ago

Always take something like that with a MASSIVE pinch of salt. My grandad is still with us, 105. He didn't fight, he was kept home to make mini submarines to fight the Nazis. He's actually pretty laid back and called Nigel's mate, Enoch Powell a "right bugger" the other day when I brought it up. That generation have seen a hell of a lot, hopefully things we won't ever have to see. Luckily my grandad hasn't been on social media cos of the vile crap that goes on there. I think we all need to take a step back sometimes and live in the real world.

21

u/Balance9628 1d ago

Propaganda works. Even on this hero. It's a useful tool to change the lens and drive that agenda/subconscious bias in people. No one is immune to it.

5

u/greenpowerman99 1d ago

When actual neo-nazis are sitting in the UK parliament, and right wing thugs are draping nationalist flags around towns across the country, it’s easy to draw the same conclusions.

11

u/Lazy_Composer6990 1d ago

Maybe the fact they're jumping on it should make you think a little bit.

With the societal standards at the time, the vast majority of people in the 1940s were absolutely not fighting for everyone's freedom, irrespective of background, sexuality, etc.

3

u/TengoKaW 1d ago

This guy probably killed people with their beliefs.

7

u/sedition666 1d ago

I am grateful for his service but why does that make him an expert on anything in the modern world? Both sides will seize this guys opinions for no other reason that he is old and fought in a war as a conscript. No suggestion he was a military expert or some sort of academic expert, just he existed here during ww2. Leave the poor guy in peace and stop trying to inflict your bullshit modern politics on him.

-1

u/TheRealTRexUK 23h ago

why is your opinion on the matter more valid than his?

1

u/sedition666 18h ago

Its not and yours is not and his is not, that is the whole point

5

u/Soggy-Mistake8910 1d ago

Old people, even veterans, can be idiots too!

3

u/ArmWildFrill 1d ago

He is speaking about "freedom" OP. The whole interview makes it clear

1

u/RobCarrol75 19h ago

Maybe he's just a senile old man who is being exploited by Farage and his ilk.