Farage is not just offering entertainment value to the otherwise dull elections
Reform could get a significant Farage 'bounce' that could come very close to level pegging with the in-the-doldrums Tories, writes Patrick O'Flynn.
Well it’s not boring anymore, is it? After mercilessly mocking the dull offerings of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in the election campaign to date, Nigel Farage has decided to go all in himself.
The now re-ensconced Reform party leader is not one for an ordinary U-turn of the sort typically performed furtively or sheepishly by more conventional politicians. Instead, one could practically hear the sound of burning rubber as he executed a high-speed and spectacular handbrake turn.
The day after Sunak called the election, Farage said he would not lead Reform and would not stand in the election but would merely “do his bit” in a supporting role. It was as close to low-key as he ever gets and Tory high command was delighted at having apparently caught him on the hop.
But at his “emergency announcement” yesterday, he not only took the leadership back from Richard Tice, but also confirmed he will stand in the arch-Brexit constituency of Clacton, held in the past by Ukip. He now faces a battle royal against the incumbent Conservative left-winger Giles Watling to take the seat.
What changed? Simply the great showman has found himself dominating the election airwaves, enjoying it and being inundated by people urging him to stand. “I can’t let down those millions of people, I simply can’t do it. So I have decided, I’ve changed my mind. It is allowed you know,” he declared.
But it is not just entertainment value that Farage is offering now. His antennae are telling him, correctly in my view, that British politics is at a major turning point. Huge swathes of the electorate are recoiling from the two main parties and the Tories in particular have lost touch with their base.
By standing and leading his party, Farage can not only give himself a great chance of entering the House of Commons at the eighth time of asking, but also of amplifying Reform’s vote share all over the country.
Every Reform candidate will now benefit from the Farage personal vote. All eyes will be on opinion polls at the end of the week. If Reform gets a significant Farage “bounce” then it could come very close to level pegging with the in-the-doldrums Tories.
“I genuinely believe we can get more votes in this election than the Conservative party. They are on the verge of total collapse,” he told yesterday’s press conference. That prospect probably still seems unthinkable to many in the political elite. Then again so did Brexit once.
