Nigel Farage has scored an own goal and is now going to spend the summer arguing with a bin - Ismail Mulla
Sometimes the red mist descends and in a fit of anger people do something that they invariably end up regretting. We’ve all been there. Wanting to lash out as a result of frustration. Even when we know the best course of action would be to let the sting of the situation dissipate and then react in a calm and rational manner.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in British politics. Seldom does a politician who lashes out emerge with their reputation enhanced.
So it was peculiar seeing Nigel Farage come out swinging last week. Resigning his seat and triggering a by-election in Clacton. A by-election that he will be standing in.
His reasoning was that the by-election will deliver a verdict against ‘the establishment’. By that what he meant was that it would prove to be a convenient distraction from the mounting financial controversies that Farage faces.
At first there were some that saw it as a genius move. There’s no way that Farage, who is undoubtedly popular, is going to lose the by-election, especially in Clacton. But within hours of him delivering a glorified party political broadcast on television, it started unravelling.
The fact that neither the Tories nor Labour rose to the bait and chose to give him the David Davis treatment undid any fight that Farage wanted to manufacture with the so-called establishment.
To compound matters for Farage, along comes Count Binface. People may have noticed during news bulletins of high profile elections an array of colourful characters surrounding the main protagonists of the count. All of them seeking their two seconds of fame.
None are more colourful than Count Binface. In essence a bloke with a bin on his face, who wants to nationalise Adele and build one affordable house. Given the dire state of our politics, even that one house would be an improvement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who technically had to accept Farage’s resignation as a member of Parliament, said: “It is a farce and a desperate distraction, and the people of Clacton deserve better. But if he wants to spend the summer arguing with a bin, I won’t stop him.”
And that is what this has boiled down to. A man supposedly vying to become the next Prime Minister arguing with a bin. Throwing his toys out of the pram has spectacularly backfired on Farage.
His supporters have resorted to associating Count Binface with the ‘shadowy’ establishment. It is truly an intergalactic conspiracy against the leader of Reform UK.
The investigation by Parliamentary Standards Commissioner into the £5m he received from the Thailand-based cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne will now be suspended, but could resume if he is returned to the Commons as MP for Clacton.
The absurdity is that this could foist another by-election on the people of Clacton, if Farage is found to have broken the rules and a suspension of more than 10 days is imposed. Labour and the Tories are wisely biding their time.
It’s not the only question that the leader of Reform is facing. He has also come under intense scrutiny over support provided by convicted criminal George Cottrell after a Sunday Times investigation.
Cottrell reportedly recruited and paid three staff to work on Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.
Teflon Farage has looked politically vulnerable for the first time in his career. The Makerfield by-election, where Reform had high hopes, saw Andy Burnham nullify the turquoise wave. And despite the gains in the local elections there are questions being asked both within and outside Reform circles about Farage’s ability to navigate his party to power.
Losing your composure over the first bit of scrutiny does not bode well. Taking a leaf out of US President Donald Trump’s book doesn’t augur well either. Trumpian tactics such as brushing off your mistakes as an establishment-led conspiracy theory won’t wash with large parts of the electorate. And that is where Reform needs to take the next step. It has to be about widening its appeal and winning votes that it has not courted in the past.
If Farage and Reform really want to be serious contenders for power then arguing with a bin is probably not the best look. Whatever happens in the by-election, being held on August 13, Nigel Farage cannot win. He will most likely return as MP for Clacton but the mischief-makers and those who want to see Farage binned will throw their vote at the Count. This is a mess that is of Farage’s own making.