Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for school children to be taught “trades and services” as he laid out some of his party’s hopes for the education system.
Reform is still in the process of drawing up a full slate of policies, including on education and other areas.
But speaking at Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham today, Farage began to lay out his vision as he said: “Let’s start teaching kids at school trades and services.
“One thing that AI will not replace is the local plumber,” he said. “They’re going to make a fortune in the years to come.” “Perhaps they already are,” he added, joking about the expense of plumbing work.
“But most of all we need to make Britain proud again,” he stressed, hinting at a desire to reshape the curriculum.
“We’ve lost our sense of who we are,” he said, addressing cheering crowds at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre.
“We refuse to acknowledge publicly the Judeo-Christian culture and heritage that we have, and that unpderpins everything that we are.
“We refuse to have our kids minds poisoned in schools and universities with a twisted interpretation of the history of these amazing islands. We will not stand for it.”
Reform’s 2024 manifesto pledged a “patriotic” curriculum in schools. This would mean lessons about an example of British or European imperialism or slavery “must be paired with the teaching of a non-European occurrence of the same to ensure balance”.
It also pledged to ban transgender ideology in schools, and for the history and social science curriculum to be reviewed and audited regularly to ensure balance as “our children must be taught about their heritage”.,
Farage had been due to speak on Friday afternoon, but took the stage earlier than planned after the resignation of Angela Rayner. He walked on stage amid blazing pyrotechnics and blaring music.
He said the party is still establishing its official policies. He described bringing “all these policies…together under one roof” as “a massive workload”.
He announced he is today inviting former Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf to be the party’s head of policy, “to bring all of this together”.
Farage also announced plans to open a new Preparing for Government department within the party, within the next few weeks. This department will “lean on all the experience” of former MP Nadine Dorries “so that when [Reform] win, we can hit the ground running”, he said.
He also said Reform hopes to populate government with experts with hands-on experience “from all walks of life”.
“I do not believe that all governments have to be MPs in the House of Commons,” he said “That’s the convention. But it doesn’t work, does it?
“You appoint people to be a rail minister, an education secretary, who have no knowledge of the department they’re supposed to run, and we will bring in a ministry of all the talents from all walks of life, and to hell with convention.”
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