'Dangerously out of touch' Farage wrong to label neurodiverse people as 'victims'

As the UK local elections approach, Reform politician Nigel Farage has been castigated for comments which present people diagnosed with autism as “victims”. Executive search expert Michelle Carson responds that for the sake of the UK’s future, the potential of neurodivergent people must be recognised.

As reactionary politicians continue to work to import the culture wars from the US, neurodiversity and the supposed ‘overdiagnosis’ of conditions such as autism have becomes increasingly prominent talking points. Recently, this saw Reform (formerly the Brexit Party, formerly UKIP) leader Nigel Farage claim that doctors in the UK were “creating a class of victims in Britain who will struggle to ever get out of it”.

Farage’s comments, at a local elections campaign event in Dover, have come under fire from the medical community, as well as bodies representing neurodiverse people in Britain. Mental health charity Mind said that Farage was “demonising” vulnerable people, while the National Autistic Society called for an end to “political point scoring”.

Going further, however, Michelle Carson states that it’s time to challenge the framing of autism and other forms of neurodivergence all together. Noting these are “not challenges to be ‘accommodated’”, Carson instead asserts that “they are strengths to be leveraged”.

Carson continues, “Nigel Farage’s claim that Britain is becoming a “class of victims” isn’t just offensive – it’s dangerously out of touch. It ignores the talent, ideas, and leadership fuelling innovation and growth across the UK… This isn’t about doing the right thing for appearances – it’s about doing the smart thing for the future.”

As the chair and founder of Holmes Noble, a global executive search firm, Carson has over three decades of expertise in recruitment and talent advisory – during which she has built a reputation for creating diverse and high-performing leadership teams. She is also a passionate advocate for neurodivergent inclusion in the workplace, leveraging her own experiences to champion change in business and leadership.

“As an autistic person, I find this rhetoric not only personally insulting but profoundly damaging to the millions of neurodivergent individuals who contribute to society in ways Farage clearly doesn’t understand,” Carson adds.

She argues that far from being “victims,” neurodivergent people should be recognised for their abilities to solve complex problems, ask hard questions, and spot “patterns others might miss”. In her three decades working at the highest levels of business and executive search, Carson explains she has seen firsthand “how much more effective and successful organisations become when they embrace neurodivergent talent.”

“Farage’s comments aren’t just outdated – they are a barrier to progress,” Carson concludes. “If we want a stronger, more innovative future, we need to listen to those who understand the value of difference — not those who diminish it. Neurodivergent people are not a burden. They are a competitive advantage. Failing to recognise that holds us all back.”