Nigel Farage (Image: Getty)
Yet probably its greatest setback came exactly four weeks ago, when Nigel Farage declared that he was taking on the leadership of Eurosceptic. Reform UK party - formerly the Brexit party - and would stand as their candidate in the Essex seaside constituency of Clacton. This was precisely the scenario that Conservative strategists had wanted to avoid by calling the early, snap election, hoping that Farage would be too busy with other commitments to throw himself suddenly into the fray. What they dreaded was their party being attacked on three fronts, from the left by Labour, from the centre by the Liberal Democrats and from the right by the resurgent Reform movement.
But that is exactly what happened yesterday, resulting in the unprecedented collapse in the Tory vote. Conservative high command had badly underestimated both Farage’s genuine anger over the extent of the Government’s failed policies, especially on immigration, and his disillusion with the way Rishi Sunak’s party treated him in recent years. In 2019 he had reached a deal with Boris Johnson to stand down most of his Brexit party candidates in favour of the Tories, in order to keep Jeremy Corbyn out of No10 and get Brexit done.
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Having willingly co-operated, he received nothing in return except condescension and hostility. But that has only made him keener for the fight this time. And the Tories were right to be fearful, for Farage is probably the most influential, effective British politician of his era. Despite seven attempts, he has never been elected an MP yet he has achieved far more than most Cabinet ministers. As the chief architect of Brexit, he won back our national independence from the Brussels empire, while twice in the European elections - with UKIP in 2014 and with the Brexit party 2019 - he led insurgent parties to the top of the national poll. In this general election he proved enormously popular on the campaign trail, attracting huge crowds wherever he went and even packing out the Birmingham NEC arena.
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His unique appeal is based on several factors. One is common-sense outlook, based on his instinctive patriotism and belief that Britain should control its own borders. His enemies love to paint him as a dangerous extremist, but in truth his views would have been in the conservative mainstream only a couple of decades ago. Indeed, in his 20s Farage was a Tory member, until he left over the acceptance of the Maastricht agreement in 1992, which promoted federal integration.
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Farage is also remarkably articulate, as he has proved in his multiple award-winning stint as a GB News presenter, In the broadcast studio or on the platform, he can speak fluently for long spells without any notes or autocue. Bravery is another key element of his character. Having almost been killed in a car crash in 1985, survived cancer and had a horrendous air crash in 2010 which has left him with a permanent legacy of pain, he is now utterly fearless.
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Farage has always said that he was quite happy away from the political limelight, making money and enjoying family life. But this election has made him a serious player once and his Reform party is now a formidable political place. But with such power comes responsibility. As he admitted on the campaign trail, his first duty will be to democratize and clean-up the party, especially on candidate selection. Farage was laughed at when he was first elected to the European Parliament and said he wanted to achieve Brexit. The Parliament was not laughing when he bowed out in 2019, having restored British sovereignty. He is certainly capable of bringing about a new realignment of British politics on the right if he makes that his mission,
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