Nigel Farage remains one of the UK’s most prominent politicians despite no longer being the leader of UKIP or winning in any of the seven occasions he has stood as an MP.
Many thought the MEP and Brexiteer’s future lay in the United States after Farage became the first overseas politician to meet Donald Trump after his election triumph.
The US President even signalled the ’Kipper should be the UK’s ambassador to America.
And Farage, if you use his regular appearances on Fox News as a benchmark, still seems to resonate on the other side of the Atlantic.
On Saturday, he appeared on the Murdoch-owned network in the aftermath of a car striking pedestrians outside the Natural History Museum in London, telling the broadcaster that officers were “clearly” treating it as a terrorist incident. It was not terrorism, and a backlash followed.
Beyond jumping to conclusions, however, many were struck by the billing Farage was given in the US.
It’s not the first time he’s been given the grandiose title of ‘Brexit leader’. From September:
While Farage was not involved with the official Vote Leave campaign (key figures believed he was too divisive, a charge he dismissed, he is seen as the public face of Brexit in the US and his profile is boosted still by his association with Trump’s former chief strategist and Breitbart chief, Steve Bannon.
Last month, Farage gave a speech in support of controversial judge Roy Moore in Alabama during a Republican Senate run-off.
In any case, it appears Farage is not quite a box office smash in the UK, according to BBC Essex.
The regional broadcaster has suggested the Elvis Presley tribute act, A Vision of Elvis, has sold more tickets than the erstwhile Ukip frontman for their respective shows at the Prince’s Theatre in Clacton, Essex.
As the Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom pointed out, the problem might stem from the Farage show being £25 per head for an ‘An Evening with Nigel Farage’.
“I’m surprised anybody at all is prepared to pay £25 to listen to any politician,” Bloom told the broadcaster.
“I still do lots of after-dinner speaking and stuff, but if people are going to cough up 25, 30 or 40 quid they expect a three course meal to go with it.”
Another Ukip-er feared if the price was lower, and the event had been more publicised, there was the risk of “trolls” ambushing the event.
It’s a fair point. In 2013, Farage was barricaded by police in an Edinburgh pub after his visit to Scotland was hijacked by pro-independence supporters.
According to BBC Essex, Farage is expecting to sell hundreds more tickets before the show, and the burst of publicity may well tip the balance against ‘A Vision of Elvis’.
It does look good, mind.
