Recently mired in sleaze, Farage and some of his most senior lieutenants seem to have been caught hook, line, and sinker by a team of investigative journalists in a sophisticated undercover sting operation that could well, if verified in a court of law, result in substantial servings of porridge. Aired on Channel 4 last night. Popcorn time!

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by sethoflagos
Not enough porridge

Not sure, maybe, but I guess how dependent the party is on him. There was a similar scandal with the Austrian FPÖ which was part of the government, where the vice-chancellor (Strache) and deputy leader of the party were recorded to be open to offer business contracts in exchange for political support from Russians. While they ultimately resigned and the party lost some seats in the snap election, the party rebounded in the following regular elections. While the Strache officially left the party, he re-joined politics. And this was all pre-COVID and sense of reality has shifted even more in the public since then. Given that Farage is not (yet) part of the government, I wouldn't be particular surprised if he can just shrug it off. It depends on how much the British sense of appropriateness has changed.

Adding his propensity to utilize the Liar's dividend (aka, lying through his teeth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar%27s_dividend), he might just as well claim that this is all a conspiracy made with AI or something. And folks will believe.

1 hour ago, sethoflagos said:

result in substantial servings of porridge

You mean 'jail gruel' ?

55 minutes ago, CharonY said:

I wouldn't be particular surprised if he can just shrug it off.

Maybe he's seen how much crap and corruption D Trump can get away with, and plans to emulate him.

5 minutes ago, MigL said:

You mean 'jail gruel' ?

A popular sitcom some 20 or so years back,perhaps.

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by geordief

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Not sure, maybe, but I guess how dependent the party is on him.

Even if Reform were an orthodox political party (it's currently a non-profit corporation limited by guarantee), it would amount to very little without Farage's charismatic leadership.

19 minutes ago, MigL said:

Maybe he's seen how much crap and corruption D Trump can get away with, and plans to emulate him.

He does not hold the reins of power, and the UK judiciary has far more political independence than their US counterparts. Even ex-PMs Johnson and Sunak got fingered for infringing COVID restrictions.

23 minutes ago, geordief said:

A popular sitcom some 20 or so years back,perhaps.

Over 50!

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by sethoflagos
duplication

7 minutes ago, sethoflagos said:

Over 50!

!!¡¡!!¡¡

Leg in Sunak anus, Nigel?

Sorry, wrong thread.

3 hours ago, sethoflagos said:

Even if Reform were an orthodox political party (it's currently a non-profit corporation limited by guarantee), it would amount to very little without Farage's charismatic leadership.

He does not hold the reins of power, and the UK judiciary has far more political independence than their US counterparts. Even ex-PMs Johnson and Sunak got fingered for infringing COVID restrictions.

Over 50!

Yep. '74-'77. Been on repeat quite a few times iirc.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by StringJunky

With apocalyptically awful timing, Reform is currently holding its annual party conference at the Birmingham NEC, and Nigel Farage went on stage today with a Trumpian speech of such monumental stupidity that it is hard to see any viable political way forward for either him, or his cod-fascist cosplay ‘party’.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyeq5jvd2po

He said Reform's pledges for its first 100 days in power would include stopping small boat crossings, cutting energy bills by £250 a year and ending the net zero "lunacy".

To eliminate "obstacles" to his plans, Farage said he would declare a "national emergency" and threatened to overhaul the House of Lords and how judges are appointed if they stood in the way.

This type of political power-play is no longer working particularly well even in Trump’s MAGA dominated Washington DC. For a tawdry and peripheral political figure like Nigel Farage who reminds many UK voters of a beery frog-faced, fag-smoking spiv from the 1940s, it is an overplay of epic and delusional dimensions.

Not so much cooked as stuffed.

12 minutes ago, toucana said:

This type of political power-play is no longer working particularly well even in Trump’s MAGA dominated Washington DC. For a tawdry and peripheral political figure like Nigel Farage who reminds many UK voters of a beery frog-faced, fag-smoking spiv from the 1940s, it is an overplay of epic and delusional dimensions.

Well, not sure about that, given the way things are moving. Some might think his speech is not radical enough. I guess we'll see but I think consequences for actions is not really a thing anymore.