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 Friday at 04:45 PM5 days 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 Friday at 06:06 PM5 days 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 Friday at 06:27 PM5 days 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 Friday at 10:01 PM5 days 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.

Cos-play anti-immigrant Fascists blocking roads near Dover this morning to coincide with the final day of the Reform Party conference up in Birmingham.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cmwyzxlzxpzgt

The usual suspects and hold-overs from the EDL, BNP and NF. As a number of other people have pointed out - given how virulently islamaphobic these groups are,  it’s rather funny they seem to be so oddly fond of wearing veils.

16 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.

Indeed, he's a blueprint of success in the current political landscape, (I don't think his removal would change much, perhaps delay the rise of the hard right) which is scarey enough to drive the humanity out of a large and increasingly larger portion of our population, which "might" have something to do with bank's and or Eton...

56 minutes ago, toucana said:

The usual suspects and hold-overs from the EDL, BNP and NF. As a number of other people have pointed out - given how virulently islamaphobic these groups are,  it’s rather funny they seem to be so oddly fond of wearing veils.

The shirts put me more in mind of the BUF

Edited Saturday at 11:24 AM4 days by sethoflagos

In the US, anyway, it seems to matter little what any particular politician does or says so long as they can tie whoever their opponent is to something even less popular and it doesn't even have to be true. If the media is flooded with a given message cleverly enough and for long enough, it becomes true in the minds of many even if the visible reality in front of them is quite different. The average person can't afford to "flood the airways" so the media has a very one-sided narrative shaped by those who control the information stream. If Mr Farage was in the US, it would not be surprising at all to see him at the political forefront for a long time if he maintained the backing of those who can control or buy media. IMO the reason Mr Farage might fade away across the pond is because the British elite seem to worry far more about the underclass revolting than do Americans and may stop backing him.

19 hours 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.

Not so much cooked as stuffed.

Well, he did defeat an intergalactic space warrior in the Clacton by-election. Perhaps he too can start wearing a garbage bin on his head and that will reduce the facial liabilities.

7 hours ago, sethoflagos said:

The shirts put me more in mind of the BUF

Those were the days, my friend. When it was still possible to self-identify as a Fascist. Now it's all this sneaky "soft fascism," prancing around in democratic sheep's clothing.

3 hours ago, npts2020 said:

If Mr Farage was in the US, it would not be surprising at all to see him at the political forefront for a long time if he maintained the backing of those who can control or buy media

He would be a cabinet secretary by now, at minimum.

On 9/5/2026 at 12:55 AM, toucana said:

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

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.

🚬🐸🍺 -> 🪿

Yes I think he will struggle now. Also the Tories are, for no reason I can fathom, doing a bit better now, plus he has Restore nibbling off bits of his target voter segment on the far far right. With a 1st past the post electoral system these factors and the air of sleaze and illegality that surrounds him and his people, I no longer see him getting many seats at the next election.

I have always suspected in any case that Farage is happier attacking from outside than actually developing a real plan for government. He must be tempted to throw in the sponge and get back on the gravy train of US speech-making. Over there a lot of people will be happy to pay $500 a head to hear him tell them how Europe is finished.😆.

And without Farage, Reform has had it. Blowjob Bob, Cruella Braverperson and Lee Anderthal have jumped from one sinking ship to another one.

On 9/4/2026 at 12:40 PM, TheVat said:

Leg in Sunak anus, Nigel?

Sorry, wrong thread.

Good morning, downvoter! Might help to understand that the OP is fond of palindromes, of which this is an example. Was not meant seriously or to demean Mr Sunak - simply referencing Farage's personal attack of Sunak a couple years ago. If you feel that Farage did NOT unjustly attack Sunak, then perhaps we could discuss this, rather than taking anonymous potshots via the DV function?

6 hours ago, exchemist said:

I have always suspected in any case that Farage is happier attacking from outside than actually developing a real plan for government. He must be tempted to throw in the sponge and get back on the gravy train of US speech-making. Over there a lot of people will be happy to pay $500 a head to hear him tell them how Europe is finished.😆.

There a hypothesis floating around that one should give those extremist party a real shot at governing, as they typically have an unfavorable ideology/fanaticism-to-policy-ratio. I.e. if they fail to deliver, folks will recognize them as the snake oil sellers they are. Interestingly, after Trump 2.0 fewer folks are saying that now.

In recent times only all too frequently the far-right extremist manage to get too close to catching the car. And as it turns out, their plan for governance is the same as campaigning: continue to lie and blame others. Today's society seems to encourage that (Liar's dividend):

The liar’s dividend refers to cases where people will claim that real information is mis- and disinformation. This approach has the benefit of muddying the waters so that people, especially those who traffic in misinformation, are able to evade or blunt scrutiny embedded in accurate words or actions that are then not believed by others. Here is how it works: in a world in which information can easily be falsified, a politician might claim that they did not do or say what they in fact did or said. The mistrust in the mainstream news media, for instance, allows political actors around the world to evade or blunt legitimate scrutiny of their words, decisions, or actions. The liar’s dividend pays off for those who sow mistrust and then use that same mistrust to their own advantage.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/misinformation-and-disinformation#ref1333851

I.e. the idea is that making false claims ultimately pays off more dividends than apologizing (i.e. taking responsibility). Now using the spectre of AI, it will be even easier.

It is probably a bit too early to see whether Reform voter will really change their minds, but my bet would be maybe a temporary slip and then some level of recovery.

52 minutes ago, CharonY said:

Interestingly, after Trump 2.0 fewer folks are saying that now.

Either people have real short memories, and conveniently forgot 2016-20, or, they are willing to 'suffer' themselves under an incompetent authoritarian Government, just to make sure their neighbors ( and people they don't like ) suffer also.

3 hours ago, MigL said:

people have real short memories

And they/we can also be willfully blind to things which contradict preferred narratives.

If it goes to court, trying to find a 12 person jury where no one knows anything about the case could be interesting, given the media coverage.

Something similar has been said about the US case where the mother killed her 3 children, now ruled a mistrial if there is a retrial they would need a neutral jury, easier said than done.

11 hours ago, CharonY said:

There a hypothesis floating around that one should give those extremist party a real shot at governing, as they typically have an unfavorable ideology/fanaticism-to-policy-ratio. I.e. if they fail to deliver, folks will recognize them as the snake oil sellers they are. Interestingly, after Trump 2.0 fewer folks are saying that now.

In recent times only all too frequently the far-right extremist manage to get too close to catching the car. And as it turns out, their plan for governance is the same as campaigning: continue to lie and blame others. Today's society seems to encourage that (Liar's dividend):

I.e. the idea is that making false claims ultimately pays off more dividends than apologizing (i.e. taking responsibility). Now using the spectre of AI, it will be even easier.

It is probably a bit too early to see whether Reform voter will really change their minds, but my bet would be maybe a temporary slip and then some level of recovery.

I expect that is so for its core voters, but Reform needs to persuade more undecided voters, concentrated in winnable seats, to back them if they are to gain enough MPS to form a future government. That becomes harder with an atmosphere of sleaze and illegality hanging over the party. The particular irony, Reform being a nationalist party, is that it evidently relies (illegally) on undeclared foreign money to keep it afloat. Orr even admitted in the course of the Channel 4 sting operation that Reform is unable to attract domestic backers, so has to resort to money from abroad!

15 hours ago, CharonY said:

There a hypothesis floating around that one should give those extremist party a real shot at governing, as they typically have an unfavorable ideology/fanaticism-to-policy-ratio. I.e. if they fail to deliver, folks will recognize them as the snake oil sellers they are. Interestingly, after Trump 2.0 fewer folks are saying that now.