United Kingdom. The return of Nigel Farage “dynamites” the legislative campaign
Nigel Farage was expected in the United States in the coming weeks, as a loyal supporter of Donald Trump. The troublemaker of British political life, with a thousand retirements and so many comebacks, will ultimately campaign in the United Kingdom. For his own election.
The former leader of Ukip, among the main architects of Brexit, took everyone by surprise on Monday June 3. Including his own entourage, slide The Daily Telegraph. A press conference called in the morning for the afternoon (on the laconic grounds of“election intervention”), in a crowded room in central London, for an announcement hoped for by his supporters. And feared by the two main British parties, Labor and Conservative.
“I intend to lead a political revolutionhe insisted in front of journalists, before committing to making immigration a central theme of the July 4 election.
“I walked my dog, I went to the pub”
The former trader introduces himself as the banner of Reform UKa populist and anti-immigration party of which he is a shareholder (a singular model in the political landscape), in the disadvantaged constituency of Clacton-on-Sea, on the English east coast, where his popularity has never weakened since the referendum of 2016 on membership of the European Union. “(Sunday) I walked my dog, I went fishing, then to the pub, just a normal day. It allowed me to think,” explained Nigel Farage to justify his decision. All the myths of “Faragism”, the voice of those left behind in deep England, were brought together in this speech, notes Tom Peck, satirical journalist for The Times.
The former MEP takes the reins of Reform UK in place of the current leader, Richard Tice, “informed of this decision only a few hours before the press conference”thinks he knows The Daily Telegraph. “After all he can afford itironically The Times, since he owns the party.”
Will the eighth time be the charm?
Just one month before the legislative election, Nigel Farage’s entry into the campaign “acts like a nightmare” for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, insists the conservative daily. The Tories hope to limit the announced hemorrhage of disappointed voters who turn to Reform UK. The return of Farage complicates their task. “He knows that conservatives are very vulnerable, at his mercy,” judges the weekly The Spectator.
Monday 3rd june “was a dark day” for the head of the executive, notes the tabloid Daily Mail : Just minutes after Farage’s press conference, the TV channel Sky News revealed a “megasurvey” unprecedented, which gave an unprecedented majority of 194 seats to the Labor Party “if the election took place tomorrow”.
“The first two weeks of a boring campaign have just been blown up by Nigel Farage’s about-face, enthuses the conservative tabloid The Sun. He will speak to disenchanted Tory voters but also to those who are not convinced by Labor. But as usual with him, we wonder what his solutions are?” This Tuesday morning, the conservative press seemed torn between its traditional proximity to the Tories and the satisfaction of seeing the emergence of a right-wing alternative to the government party, considered disconnected from the concerns of the conservative electorate.
On a personal level, the early Brexiteer hopes to enter Westminster for the first time, after seven unsuccessful attempts. A poll carried out in Clacton in January, with his candidacy as a hypothesis, credited him with a lead of 10 points over his competitors. “When he arrives this Tuesday for the first time in the constituency, known for its Ferris wheel and its fish and chips, describe The Daily Telegraph, Nigel Farage can expect a warm welcome.”
