Why protesters are throwing milkshakes at politicians as Nigel Farage becomes victim

Nigel Farage has become the latest victim of a new type of protest movement sweeping the UK targeting MPs and politicians: milkshaking.

The humble egg once used on the likes of Gordon Brown and David Cameron is making way for milkshakes being hurled over expensive suits during public appearances.

Today The Reform UK leader was leaving the Moon and Starfish pub in Clacton when a woman pelted him with what appeared to be a banana milkshake.

He was seen with the drink splattered over his suit as he boarded his campaign bus.

The ex-Ukip leader yesterday U-turned on his previous decision not to run in the General Election on July 4 in a dramatic change of heart and was out on the campaign trail in Clacton, where he plans to run, when the milkshaking took place.

But what is milkshaking and why has it become such a popular form of protest?

Why protesters throw milkshakes on MPs and politicians

It used to be that protesters chucked eggs on MPs. They are small, easy to disguise and quick to throw in a flash, and they make an embarrasing mess that's hard to remove.

Now it seems milkshakes have become the choice weapon. They are innocuous to carry, easy to get hold of, cheap, quick to throw and make a visible mess that's hard to clean.

Today wasn’t the first time Farage has been on the wrong side of the icy treat. Back in May 2019 when he was heading the Brexit Party, Nigel was clocked with a banana and salted caramel flavoured concoction as he raged at his security team ‘“You could have spotted that a mile away.”

The first noted milkshake attack appers to be a strawberry shake chucked over Tommy Robinson, or to use his real name, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, when he was running as an independent candidate for European elections in the North West, twice in two days.

UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin was milkshaked (milkshook?) at least four times in May 2019, which was a period of local council and European elections in the UK.

According to The Atlantic, the issue has become so widespread that police have tried to prevent the sale of milkshakes near political rallies, with a McDonald’s in Edinburgh bowing to police advice and taking the ice cream drinks off the menu near a Brexit Party rally.

Is throwing a milkshake on someone legal?

No. Although some argue that non-violent protest is a cornerstone of British democracy, hurling an object at a politician is not considered an acceptable form of protest. A man who hurled milkshake on Nigel Farage in 2019 was charged with common assault and handed a 12-month community service order and ordered to pay £350 compensation for a damaged lapel microphone, dry cleaning and ‘distress and inconvenience’.

At the time, CPS barrister James Long told a court: “I suppose for the split second the attack took place, Mr Farage would not know whether it was a harmless liquid or something, in this day and age, far more sinister.”