refnation
Should Parliament investigate the clash between Nigel Farage and a Lib Dem MP at the State Opening?
GovernanceEnded 31 Oct

Should Parliament investigate the clash between Nigel Farage and a Lib Dem MP at the State Opening?

Yes 56%No 44%1,952 votes cast

MPs' conduct is policed by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the Commons Speaker. Physical disputes in the Commons can be reported to the Serjeant at Arms, and no formal investigation of this incident has been reported. Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden says Nigel Farage grabbed her arm and shoved her aside on the stairs at the State Opening on 13 May 2026. Farage referred to a 'physical altercation' on 28 October, when he skipped the Budget, and Reform UK denies wrongdoing and says Lib Dem MPs were aggressive towards him. Voaden says she reported it to the Serjeant at Arms and is still waiting for an apology.

Jump to opinions· 56

The most-respected argument in this debate was a No, and it lost. “No, we've all seen the video” earned the highest respect of any opinion, yet Yes still won comfortably.

That video ran through the No case. One voter called it “a non-event”, another told readers to watch it because there was nothing in it. Others added that the incident was five months old, that Parliament already has reporting procedures, and that an investigation would be “biased, pointless expense”. The tone ran from weary to scornful, with some voters turning on Voaden and the Lib Dems directly.

The Yes side was quieter and more procedural. Its most-respected case said any assault allegation should be investigated “regardless of the gender of anyone involved”. Others wanted a short inquiry “to find out what really happened” and then to put it to bed, and one cited the fact that both participants seem to think it was more than nothing. One Yes voter, not a Farage fan, expected an inquiry to show he simply moved her out of his way.

The two camps disagreed over whether the footage settles anything. No voters treated it as conclusive. Yes voters, several conceding the incident may be minor, held that a disputed account should be tested rather than assumed, and that Voaden's report to the Serjeant at Arms deserved an answer.

Both sides, in the end, were asking for the same thing: for it to stop.

“Yes, but let’s leave “woman MP” out of it. Any allegations of assault in parliament should be investigated regardless of the gender of anyone involved.”

YES case · CalmVoter21 · 7 respects

“No, we've all seen the video”

NO case · zoomer · 10 respects

56%
Yes
majority
44% No
Votes1,952
Skipped52
You—

% voting yes, by leaning

94% yes among H. Left voters, 99 of them
77% yes among Left voters, 244 of them
75% yes among C. Left voters, 212 of them
62% yes among Centre voters, 218 of them
43% yes among C. Right voters, 302 of them
25% yes among Right voters, 731 of them
15% yes among H. Right voters, 168 of them
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Cite this result

refnation referendum, closed 30 October 2026: “Should Parliament investigate the clash between Nigel Farage and a Lib Dem MP at the State Opening?” — Yes 56%, weighted by political leaning (1,952 votes).

Free to quote with a link to this page — Copy includes it.

Download the counts (CSV) — the votes behind this result, by leaning, party, region and age.

Spread the wordShare
DocketRelated verdicts
Debate

56 Opinions

Sign in and vote to share your opinion.
zoomer· 64
The National-Interest Conservative
Voted noC. Right lean

No, we've all seen the video

TomMasson· 287
The Immigration Justice Enforcer
Voted noH. Right lean

Nothing to investigate, just the usual attacks on Reform.

SallyLalala· 523
The Hearthside Interventionist
Voted noRight lean

An investigation would be biased, pointless expense.

CalmVoter21· 336
The Public-Service Democrat
Voted yesH. Left lean

Yes, but let’s leave “woman MP” out of it. Any allegations of assault in parliament should be investigated regardless of the gender of anyone involved.

Old_school_liberal· 780
The Peacemaker
Voted yesC. Left lean

Yes simply to find out what really happened, then deal with it & put it to bed, before the sillyness gets out of hand

CommonSense· 104
The Justice Conservative
Voted noRight lean

No, the video evidence showed that it was neither here nor there. No more than most people will experience getting on a plane or wandering a busy shopping centre. Its all performative and blown out of proportion for political gain. Id rather politicians grow up and stop acting like primary school children crying over who bumped who...

NeilRandall· 206
The Polymath
Voted noLeft lean

No. Stop giving the temu Trump oxygen

Simon· 888
Leader of People
Voted noRight lean

Saw the footage in parliament and as per usual the left liberal scumbag is lying and decieving just what the left do best. They will scream,shout,lie,cheat and cry if their ideology is not going their way so inevitably they will try every stupid little stunt to belittle or decieve.

PaulWatsonJnr· 560
The Border-and-Order Mandarinate
Voted noRight lean

It's a Lib...says enough already ready. Pink hair, nose ring, supports the terrorist settlements of palestine & gaza. Probably started it and was forcefully moved rather than treating it as a threat and removing it.

Exiled_humanity· 262
The Centre-Right Sentencing Enforcer
Voted noC. Right lean

No. We've elected literal school children. Mass movement of a huge crowd there is always going to be shoving. Love to see her get on a commuter train in rush hour. She'd be accusing the entire train of mass assault. But also no need to throw a temper tantrum as your seat reservation was lost and blame on her. "She started it miss." Squabbling school children.