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Politics

03rd Dec 2017

“Why should my family suffer?” Nigel Farage says he would take EU pension worth over €80,000 a year

Dave Hanratty

Nigel Farage

Another own goal from the former UKIP leader.

The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One played host to not one, but two calamitous scenes for British political figures on Sunday morning.

First, you had Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg getting basic facts wrong regarding Ireland’s position on Brexit, referring to a snap election that is now highly unlikely to happen in the wake of Frances Fitzgerald’s resignation as Tánaiste.

But leave it to Nigel Farage to cause the biggest uproar as the former UKIP leader admitted that he would not give up his EU pension should Brexit come to pass.

The 53-year-old is entitled to an estimated annual pension of £73,000 (approximately €82,800) when he turns 63.

Having initially attempted to dodge the question, claiming that such a situation won’t come to pass, Farage eventually buckled.

“Of course I would take it,” he admitted. “I’ve said that from right from day one. Why should my family and others suffer even more?”

Faced with the accusation of hypocrisy, Farage doubled down.

“It is not hypocrisy,” he insisted. “I’ve just voted to get rid of my job. I was the turkey who voted for Christmas! How is that hypocrisy?”

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