Forgive me, but I must ask – has Nigel Farage gone a bit doolally? Has he undergone what doctors might call a serious judgement-ectomy?
Even friends are starting to wonder. This by-election was a pointless waste of money, and if anything Farage is weaker now than he was four weeks ago when he made his shock announcement to resign and fight a contest which has exposed a more unattractive character. Has the Reform UK leader’s famous “common touch”, his reputation for sensing the public mood, deserted him? Has his feel for political tactics and strategy been overwhelmed by an extraordinary aggression, an unattractive state of grievance, and a new fear?
Not since the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands fought Fermanagh and South Tyrone 45 years ago has a candidate won a by-election but not attended the declaration of their victory. And Sands couldn’t attend because he was in jail.
Early this morning, Farage announced he would voluntarily stay away from his moment of triumph, citing “credible threats” against him, and a warning he said, from the police, about an “organised campaign to disrupt the result”. Yet, strangely, Essex police have denied advising any candidate not to attend the count.
A more plausible explanation emerged when Farage made the extraordinary declaration: “I am damned if I am going to stand on a stage, having won a resounding victory… and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies.” What kind of politician is it who talks about being “demeaned and humiliated”?
