Nigel Farage is gradually walking towards the door of the Conservative Party, which has been reopened for him. There is a position for him, which has been reluctantly vacated by Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson. If the Conservatives want to win the next election, then they urgently need a big mouth – pardon, convincing liar – pardon, good election campaigner. Recent by-elections have not gone according to plan. That is, of course, if the Conservatives have a plan at all.
The Conservative Party is in a conundrum. The Latin word ‘conservare’, on which the name of the party is based, means to preserve things and keep things as they are. But over the last decades this party, when in government, has done exactly the opposite. Margaret Thatcher started with the destruction of the traditional industries and favoured the financial speculators of the City instead.
And then they laid the foundation for Brexit, the biggest action of self-harm any country has ever imposed on itself. Maybe only Pyrrhus, who achieved a victory and, by doing so, lost his army, has done something similar. But even he did not intentionally harm his country.
Farage desperate for windmills to tilt at
Farage is not like Johnson; he is clever. He found his business model years ago by leading a quixotic fight against the EU in particular and Europe in general. He even managed to join, and get paid by, an institution that he supposedly wanted to destroy. Of course, Farage never wanted Brexit, because that would destroy his business model.
When the result of the Brexit referendum in 2016 was interpreted as the “will of the people” it was, arguably, a big blow and disaster for Farage. He had won the battle of rhetoric, but he had lost his and his UKIP party’s raison d’être. Farage has attempted a comeback with other campaigns (like a referendum on net zero), which have little chance of becoming reality. Nigel Quixote could continue his fight against windmills (this time literally). But these topics are of no burning interest to the majority of people, who generally support action against climate change.
Fortunately for Farage, he was saved when it transpired that Brexit was turning into a disaster for the country (as expected). Even he has admitted that Brexit has failed. This allows him to continue with his unrealistic statements about how Brexit could have been dealt with properly. And because that will not happen, there is no danger of Farage ever being caught out.
How many Farage’s in the wings?
So, if Farage rejoins the Conservative Party, will he get the chance to become the prime minister? This is unlikely, even if quite a number of Conservatives would like to see him in this position. He is far too clever for that. His strength is in rhetoric. But it is unlikely that he is willing to take responsibility for what he is saying. He is a populist offering simplistic and divisive solutions to complex issues – he has no desire to prove that what he is saying is correct.
So, if Farage is not to be the next Conservative prime minister, then who? At the moment that is not clear. But there is at least hope. The Conservative Party has sufficient numbers of ambitious members waiting in the wings to fill this and all other ministerial posts, although there’s absolutely no evidence that there’ll be an uptick in trajectory regarding competence and capability.
