On 28 April, MPs voted on whether Keir Starmer should be probed for misleading Parliament. As we reported, this is something the PM seems to have done several times. Despite this, relatively few politicians voted in favour of Starmer facing the sort of transparency he promised to deliver in office.
Interestingly, Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick were among those who didn’t even bother to vote:
This is why @reformparty_uk are such an unserious party.
Neither Nigel Farage or Robert Jenrick voted on this, that’s 25% of their parliamentary party simply couldn’t be bothered to vote.
Decisions are made by people who turn up, Reform are not serious people. https://t.co/wRDGnowq28
— Mike Prendergast (@MikePrendUK) April 28, 2026
Part-timers
PM Keir Starmer stands accused of multiple instances of misleading Parliament. This is why his opponents tabled a vote to try and force a probe into his behaviour – a tactic Starmer himself once deployed against then-PM Boris Johnson
Starmer described the vote as a “stunt”:
Keir Starmer, “What my political opponents are doing tomorrow is a political stunt”
Cathy Newman, “It’s a stunt you pulled in opposition against the last, Conservative, government”
Keir Starmer, "The reason they’re doing it is because they don’t believe what we’re doing as a… pic.twitter.com/QXUdZJ86jZ
— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) April 27, 2026
The vote has now gone ahead, with Labour MPs voting against Starmer facing scrutiny. One rebel MP who voted in favour of Starmer facing accountability said the following:
My speech in today’s #PrivilegeDebate
https://t.co/B8cURwI3ur
— Emma Lewell MP (@EmmaLewell) April 28, 2026
Reform have sought to capitalise on this situation, with the full post from Zia Yusuf above reading:
Friendly note to Labour MPs ahead of the vote tomorrow to decide if Starmer should face an ethics probe:
If you vote against it, Reform will carpet bomb your constituency to ensure all your constituents know you voted to save the most unpopular PM of all time.
Vote wisely.
Some are upset by the term “carpet bomb”, but come on, in this context it’s abundantly clear Yusuf isn’t planning to literally bomb voters.
Zia Yusuf. This unelected evil little waffle goblin is unhinged.
Threatening to ‘carpet bomb’ an MPs constituency. Does he understand what carpet bomb means. He should be reported to the police. Idiot.#BBCBreakfast #r4today #Evil pic.twitter.com/quFGiY9zly— Alethea Bernard (@Tush27J) April 28, 2026
We all use words like ‘explosive’ and ‘nuked’ in day-to-day language, and pretending that’s not the case comes across as cynical.
To be less fair to Reform, however, you can’t talk this strongly about a vote and then just not bother voting:
Reform threatened to ‘carpet bomb’ the constituencies of Labour MPs who didn’t vote for Sir Keir Starmer to face an inquiry over the Mandelson affair.
How did their leader Farage vote? He didn’t.
— Simon Harris (@SimonHarrisMBD) April 28, 2026
And as Reform Party UK Exposed highlighted, Farage has said questionable things about Peter Mandelson himself:
Hi @Nigel_Farage, how did you vote?
You didn’t.@ZiaYusufUK – you going to “carpet bomb” Clacton? pic.twitter.com/zR6Bf25dK2
— Reform Party UK Exposed
(@reformexposed) April 29, 2026
Excuses
Nigel Farage excused his absence as follows:
The vote in Parliament tonight was great theatre, but the three-line whip meant it would never be close.
I want Starmer out, which is why I spent the day campaigning for it.
If Reform crush Labour next week, he will be gone.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) April 28, 2026
Tory candidate George McBride said this in response:
A weak defence from a man who couldn’t be bothered to turn up.
The local elections will not see Starmer leave office.
If he actually wanted Starmer out, he would have rocked up to Parliament (for once) and voted to do so.
What an awful MP Farage is proving to be.
We hate to say it, but Farage might have a point.
The vote was never going to pass, because Labour MPs are spineless, self-serving worms with no direction or purpose. Given that, Farage was possibly correct to think it wasn’t worth losing a day of campaigning.
It’s certainly the case that his opponents are kicking up a fuss, but what do you think will get more attention today:
- The fact that Labour MPs overwhelmingly voted in favour of not probing Starmer – forever tying themselves to the Peter Mandelson scandal?
- Or the fact that Farage didn’t show up, even though it wouldn’t have mattered anyway?
This isn’t to say Farage doesn’t deserve criticism; this is literally an article giving him just that.
Farage’s absence is something people will highlight every time Reform try to challenge Labour’s handling of the Mandelson scandal – something which is happening already:
Your party leader didn’t even bother to turn up pic.twitter.com/Vb1RHMWzn8
— Imogen (@Imogenlemon02) April 28, 2026
While it’s fine for the public to make this point, it’s galling to see Labour MPs attempting the same thing:
(Setting aside the “carpet bomb” threat), I note that Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick both missed the vote … that’s 25% of your MPs. Not that important to you then. https://t.co/Zq5D03xPxn
— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) April 28, 2026
Lucy Powell – you literally voted against the transparency probe – you cannot be point scoring on this!
For reference, by the way, the following are the 15 Labour MPs who had the backbone to vote for transparency:
- Apsana Begum
- Richard Burgon
- Ian Bryne
- Mary Kelly Foy
- Imran Hussain
- Brian Leishman
- Emma Lewell
- Rebecca Long Bailey
- Andy McDonald
- John McDonnell
- Graham Morris
- Luke Myer
- Kate Osbourne
- Cat Smith
- Nadia Whittome
No show
Farage’s broader problem is he has a reputation for not showing up, and this is just another example of that. It may not be the worst example, but it’s certainly one people will remind him of in years to come.
Let’s hope by then everyone realises this guy is a part-timer, and that he has no intention to seriously lead this country.
Featured image via Parliament
By Willem Moore
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