The key facts
- Farage said he skipped the budget because of a 'physical altercation' with an MP at the State Opening of Parliament in May
- Voaden claims Farage shoved her on the stairs; Reform calls the Lib Dem claims 'lies'
- The Telegraph video does not show an altercation, and the official broadcast, according to the BBC, did not capture the incident
War of words over a May incident
The conflict became public almost six months after the alleged incident: the trigger was a question about why Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was not present in the chamber for the budget announcement on Wednesday. He replied that at the State Opening of Parliament in May he had been involved in a 'physical altercation' with an MP and did not want a repeat, adding that after his prayer card was removed he was 'moving towards another altercation'. This is reported by BBC News.
The sides' accounts differ
Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden (South Devon) said she was the person involved and described what happened as follows: Farage missed the moment of the procession of party leaders into the House of Lords and, instead of standing in the general queue, 'shoved me aside to push in front'. In her words, such behaviour is 'unacceptable in any workplace' and has no place in the House of Commons. The Lib Dems claim Farage 'tried to shove' their MP; a Reform source responded by accusing the party of 'lying', saying the video 'clearly disproves' the claim that Voaden was pushed and that she was shaken.
What the footage shows and what remains unclear
Footage first published by the Daily Telegraph shows the two leaving the chamber together, but there are no visible signs of a serious altercation in it. Voaden nevertheless stated that the incident itself is not shown in the published clip; according to the BBC, it was also not captured in the official broadcast of the State Opening of Parliament. Thus, the publicly available video neither clearly confirms nor refutes either version — the disagreement between the sides remains verbal.
The complaint and the prayer card
Voaden said that after her complaint to the House of Commons authorities, Farage was instructed to apologise to her; the House of Commons itself declined to comment. Separately, the Commons Speaker told the BBC that Farage's prayer card — a way of reserving seats in the chamber — 'did not have a valid date mark' and was removed 'in line with normal protocol'. Other politicians also weighed in on the conflict: Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper told Sky News that, as she understood it (she did not see what happened herself), Farage 'physically shoved' a female MP, while Reform MP Robert Jenrick said he was 'fed up to the back teeth with these pathetic Westminster debates'.
Image source, Getty Images/ PA Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage
