Nigel Farage ‘Won’t Take a Penny’ of £153,000 MEP Severance Pay

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FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images
Kurt Zindulka

Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage will refuse any severance pay from the European Union for his twenty-year tenure representing the United Kingdom in the European Parliament.

As a final rebuff to the powers that be in Brussels, Mr Farage will refuse to take any of the £153,000 severance pay that he is entitled to receive in compensation for the twenty years he served in the European Parliament.

Under the rules of the EU, former Members of Parliament are entitled to a pre-tax “transition allowance”. This “golden goodbye”, which is based on time served, would have amounted to €178,657 (£152,992) for Mr Farage.

However, a spokesperson for the Brexit Party leader told The Guardian that “He won’t take a penny” from Brussels.

In 2017, Farage said that he would “probably” accept the severance pay but added that “they won’t give it to me” because of his Eurosceptic positions.

“Given the nasty vindictive nature of these institutions I’d be very surprised if I get what’s due”, said Farage.

Former MEPs are eligible for a payout of one month’s salary for every year served in the “parliament” — which cannot actually initiate or repeal legislation.

Most Brexit Party MEPs will not qualify for compensation as they have served in the body for under one year.

Mr Farage will conclude his time in office as an MEP for the United Kingdom when Britain formally leaves the European Union at the end of this month. His tenure has been marked by rousing speeches in favour of Brexit and verbal onslaughts against Brussels eurocrats.

On Monday gave another final parting shot at the EU, after he claimed on Twitter that parliamentarians in Brussels had removed the British flag from British MEPs’ desks.

“We have just had our Union Jack flags removed from our desks in the European Parliament, by order of the President. National symbols are now banned”, said Farage.

“Thank God we are leaving.”

The Brexit Party leader is planning to toast the United Kingdom’s long-delayed withdrawal from the European Union with a £100,000 “Brexit Celebration Party” in Parliament Square, London on January 31st.

“Jan 31 is a moment to celebrate, when the Establishment have been beaten by the people”, he said.

Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka

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