Nigel Farage: new Reform UK leader is replaying the greatest hits of Brexit - will the UK fall for it again?

I was told by a number of party sources that the godfather of Brexit wanted to return to frontline politics at a time of “maximum impact”. However, since then Farage has focused most of his attention in the US.

He said repeatedly that he would not stand in this general election, saying he hadn’t had enough time to prepare. That is until today …

With exactly 31 days to go until polling day, Farage dropped a bomb that is Rishi Sunak’s worst nightmare. He revealed that he was standing in Clacton, the Essex constituency that is the only seat to have elected a Ukip MP at a general election, and was also becoming Reform UK leader for the next five years. 

In the glitzy Glaziers Hall, in central London, (not Clacton) Farage announced his comeback, which was a collection of his greatest lines (or lies depending on your opinion).

He said he wanted to lead a “political revolt … a turning of our backs on the political status quo”, adding: “It doesn’t work. Nothing in this country works any more.” Farage said the country was in “moral decline”, claiming that fewer than half of young people in the UK know what D Day is. He said he had millions of supporters across the country and would stand up for the “little man”.

He attacked journalists over their questions, shouting “would you come to Clacton?” at one young reporter and pretending to fall asleep to a probe from the Guardian. At one point he shouted “you were all wrong” at the media, while laughing to himself.

This is the exact modus operandi Farage used successfully during the EU referendum. He told Britons struggling after the financial crisis and Cameron and Osborne’s austerity programme, to blame the EU and immigrants.

The former City trader, who went to one of the most expensive private schools in the country, claimed he was a man of the people, and convinced them Brexit would solve all their problems. 

Now, more than four years after officially leaving the EU, fewer than one in five Leave voters think Brexit is going well. The Office for Budget Responsibility and Goldman Sachs both think that it has taken 5% off our economy, which has struggled to grow. When asked about Brexit today, Farage said “the economics of this are the least of the problems”.

Small businesses have hit out at extra red tape, while pubs and restaurants have struggled to recruit staff. One Leave-voting farmer recently told me Brexit had gone “terribly” and the government’s free-trade agreements are “s***”. And of course, the greatest irony of all, immigration has gone up.

Farage of course won’t take any responsibility for this, putting all the blame on the Conservatives. And now, with families struggling from the cost of living crisis, the energy crisis and a huge increase in mortgage rates, he once again says he’s got the answers. The question is - after the disaster of Brexit - will the country fall for it again?

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.