Farage and Streeting (Image: PA)

       Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed claims Nigel Farage could become PM despite Reform UK smashing through and leading opinion polls of late.

       Find Out Now was the latest polling outfit to put the party ahead.

       Yet for Streeting, this has more to do with media coverage than much else, claiming achieving this is one of Farage’s “superpowers”, despite there being just five Reform MPs.

       But Streeting should realise that, driven by social media or not, Farage gets airtime precisely because he is resonating, rather than the other way around.

       Moreover, comparisons to the likes of the Lib Dems fail to appreciate just how well Reform is doing: it had more than double the support of Sir Ed Davey's party in the Find Out Now poll, regardless of support distribution and MPs.

       That isn't simply driven by airtime - especially since so much press coverage of Farage and Reform is so damn negative - and, rightly or wrongly, social media is now where attention is going.

       If Farage and Reform play the social media game better then more fool the other parties.

       Just as President Trump brought out the bro vote doing the rounds on the podcasts so Farage is building up his profile on X and TikTok. A smart move!

       Streeting may counsel "let’s not get too carried away by Nigel Farage" but voters know authenticity when they see it.

       Reform is surging because the party resonates with a disgruntled public. The airtime Farage and his party gets - again, much of which is downright negative - reflects that reality.