Farage skips Budget over fear of Commons confrontation

Summarised from 6 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 17:51 · Archive

Nigel Farage claimed he skipped the Budget to avoid a physical altercation with another MP.

Nigel Farage claimed he skipped the Budget speech to avoid a possible physical altercation with another MP. The Reform UK leader said he had previously been involved in a confrontation with an unnamed MP during the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May, and that his prayer card—which MPs place on seats to reserve them in the Commons chamber—had been removed on Wednesday.

Farage said at a Westminster press conference following the Budget: "At the state opening of Parliament, I didn't want to but I got involved in a physical altercation with an MP in the chamber. I didn't make a fuss about it, I didn't complain, but I could see, given that my prayer card had been removed, I was heading towards another physical altercation."

He explained that he had decided "sometimes it's better to avoid conflict" and that this was one reason for his absence. He also gave a second reason: he chose to watch the Budget from his party's offices with a team of economists so he could analyse it "line by line" in more detail.

Farage said he had also planned to attend Prime Minister's Questions but decided against it for the same reasons, jokingly describing himself as "a very quiet, shy, modest kind of person" who decided "to give it a wide berth".

He compared the atmosphere in Parliament to "being at school", calling it "pathetic". At least six other Reform MPs, including deputy leader Richard Tice, were present in the chamber during the Budget.

Tory MP Alicia Kearns challenged Farage's account on social media, branding his claims about the prayer card being removed as "total bull" and pointing out that Reform MPs could have given him their seat. Reform UK has not revealed the identity of the MP Farage claimed to have clashed with in May.

How it is being reported

• Nigel Farage skips budget in Commons over seating ‘altercation’ concernsReform UK leader ‘shocked’ by £10bn pledged to Ukraine and doubles down on cutting tax for crypto investors Budget 2026 live – latest updates Budget 2026: key points at a glance Nigel Farage skipped the chancellor’s first budget because he was worried he would get in a “physical altercation” with another MP in a row over seating arrangements. The Reform UK leader admitted he was not present in the House of Commons but gave a press conference afterwards in which he said he was “shocked” by the £10bn going to support Ukraine and doubled down on his party’s policies on cutting tax for crypto…Guardian World · 28 Oct, 18:21
• Nigel Farage says he skipped Budget to avoid 'physical altercation'Farage was not in the House of Commons when John Healey delivered his first BudgetThe Independent · 28 Oct, 17:39
• Nigel Farage Claims He Dodged The Budget To Avoid A 'Physical Altercation'Nigel Farage has alleged that he skipped the Budget to avoid a “physical altercation” with another MP. The Reform UK leader claimed he previously clashed with an unnamed politician in the House of Commons during the State Opening of Parliament in May this year over seats. The Clacton MP said the slip of paper he had placed to reserve a place on the packed benches today was removed, and he “didn’t want to make a fuss”. MPs can reserve a position on the benches during well-attended events in the Commons by placing a green slip of paper in the slot above a seat at the start of each session. At…HuffPost UK · 28 Oct, 17:34
• Nigel Farage claims he skipped Budget to avoid 'physical altercation' with MPThe Reform UK leader claimed he’d previously had an issue with an unnamed MP at the state opening of parliament, and wanted to dodge a 'potential conflict' so skipped the BudgetThe Mirror · 28 Oct, 17:04
• Nigel Farage claims he skipped watching the Budget in the Commons as he feared ending up in 'another physical altercation' in Parliament after 'previous bust-up in May'The Reform UK leader suggested his absence from Parliament for Chancellor John Healey's statement was because he had decided to 'avoid conflict'.Daily Mail · 28 Oct, 16:28
• Nigel Farage says he got into a ‘physical altercation’ with another MP in MayTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Nigel Farage has revealed he didn’t attend the Budget today because he wanted to avoid ‘potential conflict’. Asked why he was not in the Commons as the…Metro · 28 Oct, 16:09

In this story: Nigel Farage · John Healey · Reform UK · Alicia Kearns · Richard Tice · House of Commons

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log