Union leaders have slammed Nigel Farage after he called on them to ditch Labour and back Reform UK instead.
In a major policy announcement, he said Reform was now “the party of the workers”.
He urged trade unions to affiliate with Reform UK and for their leaders to attend the party’s annual conference in Birmingham in September.
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Farage, who has not held a press conference since it emerged nearly two months ago that he received £5 million donation from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire, made the announcement in a video on X.
But the trade unions themselves immediately rejected his invitation.
They pointed out that Reform – which has seen several former Tory cabinet ministers defect to the party – voted against Labour’s attempts to strengthen rights for workers.
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A GMB spokesperson said: “Mr Farage and his Reform MPs say one thing to workers and do another.
“They voted against sick pay and other essential safeguards. They even want to prevent people organising to make work better at places like Amazon.
“Now they want to stop low-paid working women getting access to their pension scheme.
“We see them for what they are – rebadged Tories after union members’ basic rights.”
Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the TSSA union, said: “The interests of working people are not safe in the hands of Reform UK, a party whose leaders want to protect their own interests at the expense of everyone else.
“A Farage-led government would rip up the Employment Rights Act and launch even worse attacks on workers’ rights than Thatcher.
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“Union members will not be conned by this ridiculous and desperate gimmick from Farage.”
Labour MPs also hit out at Farage, with one saying he was “like a fox campaigning for better henhouse security.”
Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, said: “Nigel Farage opposed Labour’s legislation to ban zero hours contracts and outlaw fire and rehire.
“It’s outrageous for him to seek to pose as a champion of workers’ rights, given his consistent hostility to trade unions.
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“Reform UK has no interest whatsoever in promoting employment rights or of campaigning for a national living wage.
“This is pure opportunism from Farage, who would go further than Thatcher with anti-union legislation if he ever came to power.”
Posting on X, fellow Labour MP Luke Charters said: “Quite something from a bloke who voted to water down union rights and opposed day-one sick pay, parental leave, bereavement leave and protections from exploitative zero-hours contracts.
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“Like a fox campaigning for better henhouse security.”
FBU general secretary Steve Wright said: “Nigel Farage is a Thatcherite who is an enemy of trade unions and has consistently opposed extending employment rights, as well as workers taking strike action in defence of their jobs.
“As a former Tory party member in the 1980s, Farage was a cheerleader for Thatcher’s war on the miners and the biggest onslaught on trade unions since the Second World War. As an MP, Farage opposed the introduction of Employment Rights Act to ban zero hour contracts and outlaw fire and rehire.
“Firefighters and other workers will see this ludicrous stunt for what is by a party led by multi-millionaires that is a threat to the working class.”
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