I worked in the City of London in the 1980s (I still have an office there) as did Nigel Farage so I’m well aware of what he means by a PFL.
The TLA dates back at least to when he was running UKIP in 2015. Erstwhile advisor Raheem Kassam (now co-owner of a MAGA restaurant in Washington) revealed it in a Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis that caused her to remind viewers of what is stands for: Proper Fucking Lunch.
Farage is still at it btw. The Sunday Times published an interview with Farage at his favourite Pimlico whine bar and restaurant Boisdale in June 2025. It reported what his PFL consisted of
Farage is eating Lamb and Kidney pudding (Suffolk lamb, suet crust, claret gravy) £34.50 which he describes as a ‘proper fucking lunch’ and drinking claret
Farage’s favourite pub chain Wetherspoons sell a Steak & Ale pudding with red wine & onion gravy for around £7-8 with a glass of red wine but I doubt this constitutes a PFL.
Kasseem also noted on Newsnight that a PFL consisted of two bottles of wine each.
Those were the days (I drank more beer than wine) but the days of the boozy lunch certainly in the City of London are in serious decline. There is (a lot of) work to do and being unsober in the afternoon doesn’t work as it were.
As for Farage representing working people, those PFLs in the 80s were all with managers and professionals (unlike Farage, all union members)
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