Farage shakes things up

This is taken from this evening’s edition of Today on spiked, our daily newsletter. To get more exclusive commentary like this, and a round-up of all our content each day, sign up here.

Well, we said yesterday that Nigel Farage re-entering the political fray would, at the very least, banish the boredom from the election. Today, the Reform UK leader was pelted with a banana milkshake as he launched his personal campaign to become the MP for Clacton. It brings to mind that spate of politically motivated milkshakings during the European Parliament elections back in 2019. Radicalised Remainers revelled in this dairy-based form of direct action. Their guerilla milkshaking campaign targeted various figures from the Brexit Party and UKIP, from Farage right down to elderly activists. It didn’t work. The Brexit Party emerged on top. The populist revolt marched on, despite the drenchings. Could the milkshake-soaked Farage triumph again this time? Only time will tell. One thing’s for sure, though – he’s already shaking things up.

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