Now Nigel Farage says Rishi Sunak has ‘no connection with the country’: Reform leader risks inflaming row over ‘dog whistle politics’ after accusing PM of not ‘understanding our culture’ for leaving D-Day commemorations early

Nigel Farage today risked fueling the row over the ‘dog whistle’ policy, as he accused Rishi Sunak of having ‘no connection to the land’.

The reform leader faced a backlash yesterday after landing in the prime minister’s office decides to end D-Day commemorations in France early.

He claimed Mr Sunak ‘doesn’t really care about our history, and frankly doesn’t care about our culture either’.

Mr Farage has insisted he was referring to Mr Sunak’s “class” and not his heritage as the son of first-generation immigrants.

And during a campaign event in London This afternoon the Brexiteer returned to the subject and said of the Prime Minister: ‘He has no connection with the country whatsoever. This is your classic Winchester, Oxford, Goldman Sachs…does he even meet regular people? I doubt it.

“He doesn’t understand where the center of gravity of people’s hearts lies in this country.”

Mr Sunak this morning stubbornly refused to get involved in the row, insisting it would not be ‘good for our politics, or even for our country’. He reiterated his apology for leaving Normandy before the final event to do a campaign interview in Britain.

Nigel Farage today risked fueling the row over ‘dog whistle’ politics as he accused Rishi Sunak of having ‘no connection with the country’

Mr Sunak this morning stubbornly refused to get involved in the row, insisting it would not be ‘good for our politics, or even for our country’.

Asked today what he thought of Mr Farage’s comments, Mr Sunak told reporters on a campaign visit to West Sussex today: ‘You can ask him. I can’t speak for him and what he meant by those comments.

‘I’m not going to get involved in that, because I don’t think it’s good for our politics, or even for our country.

“And when it comes to the D-Day events, I’ve talked about that a lot over the past week. I had absolutely no intention of hurting or upsetting anyone, which is why I have apologized unreservedly for the mistake I made.

“And I just hope that people can find it in their hearts to forgive me and look at my actions that I have taken as Prime Minister, both to support our armed forces with an increase in defense spending, but also to to focus on veterans. Getting things done around the cabinet table, and making sure this is the best country in the world to become a veteran.”

Speaking at the reform event this afternoon, Farage said the Tories could get zero seats if Sunak had to resign in the campaign.

“I would have thought they would probably get a score similar to the May 2019 European elections, around 8 percent and zero seats,” he said.

‘If this had not been an election, I think he would have resigned already. To have shown during D-Day that he didn’t even understand what it meant for people.’

Chris Philp today became the latest senior politician to attack Mr Farage, telling LBC: ‘I think this is very unfair and, in relation to Nigel Farage, very inaccurate.

‘Anyone who knows Rishi Sunak will say he works for the country day and night – he has backed our armed forces with a pledge of 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to fund our armed forces, a pledge that Work has not supported, and he has done more than anyone to support our veterans.”

Farage told the BBC yesterday that Sunak ‘should have known in his heart’ that it was wrong to leave Normandy early.

He claimed the Tory leader ‘doesn’t really care about our history, and frankly doesn’t care about our culture either’.

Challenged by the comments, he insisted he was talking about Mr Sunak’s “class” and not his heritage as the son of first-generation immigrants.

Mr Farage denied any racial element and said ’40 per cent of our contribution’ to the two world wars ‘came from the Commonwealth’.

He added that the Prime Minister was “by class, by privilege, completely disconnected from how ordinary people feel. He revealed that, I think in spectacular fashion, when he left Normandy early.”

Rishi Sunak apologized for his decision to leave early for the D-Day commemorations on Thursday

Asked today what he thought of Mr Farage’s comments, Mr Sunak told reporters on a campaign visit to West Sussex today: ‘You can ask him. “I can’t speak for him and what he meant by those comments.”

Mr Stride said he felt “very uncomfortable” with the “ill-considered” comments, adding: “I am very proud that we have a British-Asian right-hand man at the top of our government.”

Labor spokesperson Shabana Mahmood accused Farage of ‘dog-whistle politics’.

“We can all see exactly what he is doing, he has form, it is completely unacceptable,” she added.

“This is a man who has a track record of dividing communities who only want to do so with a veneer of respect.”

Mr Sunak attended D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy, Francelast week.

But he left Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to represent Britain at an “international event” attended by Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky and other world leaders. The Prime Minister apologized the next day, saying he “deeply regretted” his decision to leave early. The backlash has deepened the gloom surrounding the Tory campaign, which has so far failed to reduce Labour’s huge lead in the polls.

Former minister Nadine Dorries suggested this weekend that the Prime Minister could even ‘fall on his sword’, but senior Tories have dismissed this.

One said: ‘In the words of Churchill, he must keep going – there is no other option. He should just stop doing that shit.’

Mr Sunak told The Mail On Sunday: “We all make mistakes. We are all human. But I am motivated to do the best I can for this country. That’s what keeps me going.’

He hopes to restart the Conservative campaign tomorrow, when he is expected to unveil the party manifesto and focus on the political divide over taxes.

Mr Stride told Sky News that Mr Sunak ‘absolutely will’ lead the Tories into the election and denied that ‘all is lost’.

Chris Philp today became the latest senior politician to attack Mr Farage, telling LBC: ‘I think this is very unfair and, in relation to Nigel Farage, very inaccurate.