Farage, Populism & I’m a Celeb. Not that Popular
Simon Jenkins writing in the Guardian (30th November) argued that the 2024 General Election is set to be toxic with most parties trying to out do each other with racist policies on migration. Given that Keir Starmer’s off the cuff comments on the latest migration figures were notably more hyperbolic than the current Tory Home Secretary and a Times Editorial on the subject, Jenkins has a point.
Of course Starmer will never be a populist. Jenkins has in mind the hard to far right Reform Party currently sort of led by Richard Tice. Reform has been in the news currently around a story (denied) that it offered 30p Lee Anderson money to defect from the Tories. Tice has said that unlike the 2019 Election Reform candidates won’t stand down in Tory seats. Given that the party polled above 5% in some recent Parliamentary By-Elections that could be trouble for the Tories and perhaps Labour too.
The real leader of Reform is Farage who Jenkins styles as a populist. Farage himself knows that he deeply divides opinion but as the example of Holland suggests that isn’t a complete bar to his political ambitions.
Farage has brrn in the Australian jungle being paid £1.5 to appear on I’m A Celebrity and eating penis pizza (what’s wrong with pineapple). His presence however far from being populist or even popular seems to have seen the shows ratings plunge by a couple of million with viewers and advertisers departing thanks to Farage. The shows hosts Ant and Dec have called for politicians to be kept off future series while the Mirror has reported that ITV bosses are trying to find ways to stop Farage droning on about politics from his Jungle HQ.
Farage made it to the final three contestants on 10th December and was the first to be eliminated with 25.8% of viewers votes. This despite the ranks of GBNews viewers and other red faced pontificators voting on the App for him to win. In short Farage was just as unsuccessful as he has been in the seven times he has stood for Parliament and lost.
Reality rarely intrudes into the worldview of the hard right where Farage’s no success like failure will be applauded
It begs the question of how popular populism is, which I suppose might be good news for Starmer
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