Just because alleged racist behaviour occurred during someone’s school years decades ago doesn’t automatically render it irrelevant.
For many of those affected, the effects are enduring. When someone in a position of power shows open contempt or hostility toward people of different backgrounds, it does two things: it harms individuals directly, and it normalises prejudice.
The testimonies emerging now are from former pupils who say that, as teenagers, they experienced repeated targeted abuse because of their ethnicity or religion slurs, antisemitic chants, mocking of Holocaust atrocities, Nazi salutes, and aggressive hostility.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/22/nigel-farage-racist-past-who-is-telling-truth-schooldays
That kind of abuse is not “just schoolyard banter.” It attacks identity, belonging, dignity things that remain with people long into adulthood.
Many survivors of racial or religious harassment report long-term psychological, social or emotional scars: shame, alienation, distrust, hypervigilance, a diminished sense of self-worth.
To dismiss that on grounds of “it was so long ago” is to ignore the lasting harm inflicted.
Moreover, when someone later becomes a public figure, the question isn’t just: “Should we judge them for teenage misdeeds?” it’s whether those misdeeds reveal enduring beliefs and character.
Actions speak louder than words: a pattern of demeaning behaviour, particularly toward marginalised groups, matters because it signals what the individual might tolerate or enable as an adult, especially when they hold power.
What is being alleged: the school-day allegations against Farage
Recent reporting based on more than 20 former classmates and at least one former teacher alleges that while attending Dulwich College in the 1970s and early 1980s, Nigel Farage:
- Used racial and antisemitic slurs and remarks repeatedly. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/22/nigel-farage-racist-past-who-is-telling-truth-schooldays
- Referred directly to Holocaust atrocities: one former pupil claims Farage simulated a “gas chamber” “hiss,” reportedly telling a Jewish classmate “Gas them.” https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/19/nigel-farage-allegations-racist-behaviour-school
- Sung racist, Nazi-inspired songs, including songs referencing the use of gas chambers against Jews and other minority students — on visits or Combined Cadet Force (CCF) camps. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/19/nigel-farage-allegations-racist-behaviour-school
- Made racist remarks or gestures toward Black, South Asian, and other ethnically diverse pupils reportedly using slurs and harassing minority students, especially when in roles of relative authority (e.g. in CCF) which allowed him to assign “work/task details” disproportionately to pupils from marginalised backgrounds. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/22/nigel-farage-racist-past-who-is-telling-truth-schooldays
- Did this repeatedly over a span of years from around age 13 up to 18. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/25/three-more-ex-pupils-at-school-with-nigel-farage-reject-banter-claims
The scale and persistence of these allegations go far beyond a single regrettable comment they suggest a pattern of systemic harassment, directed at the most marginalised students in that setting.
The response and why it raises further concern
Nigel Farage and his representatives have denied the allegations. He says he has “never directly racially abused anybody, not with intent.” https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/reform-uks-farage-says-he-never-directly-racially-abused-anybody-after-school-2025-11-25
When asked whether he ever made racist remarks as a teenager, Nigel Farage said he cannot remember all the details from nearly fifty years ago and described some of what was alleged as “banter.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nigel-farage-racism-antisemitic-comments-classmates-b2871578.html
But many of his former classmates reject the “banter” defence. Some describe the alleged abuse as targeted, persistent, public not throwaway jokes, but a core part of school life for some especially for those from ethnically diverse or Jewish backgrounds. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/22/nigel-farage-racist-past-who-is-telling-truth-schooldays
One described hearing slurs repeatedly, hearing songs chanting “gas them all,” and feeling unsafe. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/25/three-more-ex-pupils-at-school-with-nigel-farage-reject-banter-claims
For many of those raised under that abuse, even if the perpetrator says he “didn’t intend” to hurt, the hurt was very real. To dismiss that as irrelevant simply because it was decades ago is to dismiss lived trauma and denies those survivors a sense of validation and accountability.
Why this matters for individuals, society and politics today
1. Accountability even decades later
Powerful people cannot assume that painful acts especially those aimed at vulnerable or marginalised groups can be wiped clean with time. If school-age behaviour includes demeaning or dehumanising a protected group, it must be taken seriously. Survivors deserve the dignity of being heard, believed, and where possible apologies and accountability.
2. It’s not “innocent youth” it’s ideology in the making
We often excuse teenage cruelty as “kids being kids.” But what these testimonies suggest is a deep, organised, repeated harassment rooted in prejudice: songs praising gas chambers, slurs, mocking minorities.
That isn’t random immaturity that bears the hallmarks of hate and ideology. And when the young person becomes a public figure, we must ask: what beliefs remained? What views were nurtured? What influence might they exert?
3. Psychological and intergenerational harm
For those on the receiving end from teenage minorities today in Britain, or from ethnic and religious marginalised communities such public revelations matter. When a leader denies or dismisses abuse, it sends a message: “Your pain doesn’t matter; your identity can be mocked; it doesn’t count.” That reinforces existing inequalities and marginalisation.
4. The importance of public memory and moral reckoning
Societies evolve but only if we confront the uglier parts of our shared past honestly. If we treat racism as a minor teenage indiscretion and let those responsible later lead public life without ever acknowledging the harm they did, we normalise minimisation of racism. That undermines trust, justice, and social cohesion.
What the ethnically-diverse former pupils are asking for and deserve
Those who have come forward deserve more than a cursory denial or a dismissive “that was 49 years ago.” At minimum, they deserve:
- A meaningful, unequivocal acknowledgement of what they allege happened.
- An apology if those allegations are credible, or at least recognition of the distress caused.
- A demonstration that the individual and any political party they lead now are committed to equality, respect, and inclusion not just in words, but in policies and conduct.
- Empathy, validation, and space to share their stories now, safe from dismissal or ridicule.
Their experiences matter to them, and to the public good.
Conclusion
Racism and antisemitism aren’t generationally bound offences that automatically expire with time.
They leave scars on individuals, communities, and social trust.
When allegations emerge that someone in power harassed or dehumanised people because of their identity, even decades ago, those allegations must not be brushed off as “youthful misdemeanour.”
Recognising that harm, listening to survivors, acknowledging wrongdoing, learning and growing, is essential if we are serious about justice, equality, and dignity for all.
In the case of Nigel Farage, the testimonies from former classmates paint a troubling picture.
Dismissing their accounts purely on the grounds of time does a disservice to those who experienced inequalities, harassment, discrimination or victimisation it undermines any credibility in claims of reform or change.
To ignore it would be to turn a blind eye not just to history, but to the people still living with its scars/consequences.
Further reading on Nigel Farage racism school‑day allegations
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/28/nigel-farage-antisemitism-allegations-us-maga