Nigel Farage has challenged Sir Keir Starmer to a one-on-one debate in a working men's club in the Red Wall.
Confirming reports that he would lay out such a challenge to the Prime Minister, Farage said: "He has challenged me to a head-to-head debate some time between now and the next election. The last time this happened to me was with Nick Clegg.
"I'm very happy, Prime Minister, to accept this invitation - but I don't want to wait four more years.
"I've got an idea... Why don't the Prime Minister and I go to a working men's club in the Red Wall, and members can sit there and ask us questions.
'Why don't the Prime Minister and I go to a working men's club in the Red Wall, and members can sit there and ask us questions,' Farage said
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"That's my open invitation... Let's go to one of the former mining communities, somewhere Labour has held since the 1980s.
"Whether the Prime Minister will enjoy a few beers with the lads and do the Channel 4 racing in the afternoon, I'm not sure - but I'm very happy to do so."
Elsewhere in his landmark Tuesday address, Farage set the stage for an industrial heartland debate by casting off the Conservatives' prospects there entirely.
Kemi Badenoch’s party is a "complete irrelevance in the Red Wall where nobody will ever trust them again”, the Reform chief fumed.
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Farage set the stage for a Red Wall debate by casting off the Conservatives' prospects there entirely
PA
And in preparation for his address, Labour branded Farage a "self-interested career politician".
Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves, who has been involved with Labour since she was 15, claimed Farage has "only ever cared about his own self-interest and personal ambition, never about what is good for working people in this country".
She also warned that Reform UK could move to "cut the state pension" to pay for a raft of promised tax cuts - which she deemed "reckless".
Her pre-emptive attack came shortly after details of Farage’s speech today emerged.
Long-time Labour member Ellie Reeves branded Farage a 'self-interested career politician'
PAIn what was billed as the party leader’s "biggest direct attack yet" against Sir Keir Starmer, he said: "Starmer has no connection with working people, no connection with their lived experience.
"What does Starmer know about people getting up at 5am to go to work, pay their taxes and still not have enough to pay the bills?"
He added: "Labour said they were the party of change, but the change they have delivered has made people poorer, our streets more dangerous and British sovereignty weaker.
"[Starmer] and his Government are so hopelessly out of touch with working people. They U-turn on everything as they do not believe in anything."
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