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Original poster

To think that Nigel Farage is a political genius.

208 replies

beingchampion · 11/11/2019 13:47

Doesn't matter if you think he's a cock, but he'll be remembered for a very long time. You've got to admire his tenacity.

OP posts:
bellinisurge · 12/11/2019 06:53

He's already got a job on Fox News as British correspondent. So you've all sorted his career out for him.

LellyMcKelly · 12/11/2019 07:00

He can’t even get himself elected Parliament. Liz Truss is more of a political genius...and she makes Mr Tumble look like Stephen Hawking.

wondering7777 · 12/11/2019 07:09

He can’t even get himself elected Parliament.

This is true, but what he has “achieved” (Hmm) is far more seismic and far-reaching than simply becoming an MP. It’ll have a huge impact on this country for decades to come.

bellinisurge · 12/11/2019 07:16

The Eurosceptic debate in both parties has been going on longer than him. He spotted a trend, like Trump.

dirtyrottenscoundrel · 12/11/2019 07:26

Agree wondering7777
Most people couldn’t name more than 20 MPs, and very few MPs will ever achieve what Nigel Farage has.
Farage is known all over the world, pretty much. He’s far bigger than just an MP.

Cam77 · 12/11/2019 07:37

A political genius would have won more than zero seats. He’s played into people’s fears and xenophobia and in many cases brought them to the fore of peoples social and political thinking. Not a very nice man, though I guess you could call him successful at what he does.

Quartz2208 · 12/11/2019 07:37

Bellinisurge exactly regardless of what you think about Farage or Brexit I cant understand why this move is good.
He is only targeting marginal labour seats splitting the Brexit vote and taking the chance away from the Torres

Actually as writing I have changed my mind it is genius he is splitting the vote because he wants no Parliament he wants chaos leading to no deal. That is their aim dressed up as helping the Tories

Focyt · 12/11/2019 07:43

He’s basically just won a majority for the conservatives. Good.

Actionhasmagic · 12/11/2019 07:47

He’s a cunt

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 12/11/2019 07:56

I can't understand why DC gave in. Maybe arrogance in thinking that LEAVE wouldn't be the outcome.

He was never the sharpest knife in the box. But he was bouyed by the outcome of the Scottish Referendum, which was an altogether more sensible affair. Debated by people well beforehand and young people had the right to vote in a decision that would affect their future for one thing. In the end they chose the status quo and I think DC thought the same would happen in regards to an EU referendum, totally underestimating how much bigger the stakes (and the players) were as well as how complex issues surrounding the EU were/are for a lot of lay people to understand and the influence of the right wing press.

After the Scottish referendum he said: "Now the debate has been settled for a generation, or as Alex Salmond has said: 'Perhaps for a lifetime'.

I genuinely think he thought he would put the issue to bed 'for a generation' in regards to the EU as well. Note Boris wagered differently because he was astute enough to read the mood better and ride the populist wave of discontent for his own ends.

dirtyrottenscoundrel · 12/11/2019 07:58

Quartz2208
True. But he’s certainly made it easier for the tories to win now.
And who knows, if he runs a really good campaign up north his party will win seats of their own!

ShatnersWig · 12/11/2019 08:08

DC thought he could sort out the divisions in his own party over Europe with the referendum and it backfired hugely and now the whole country is paying the price. The idea that there was some form of "fear of Farage and UKIP" is arrant nonsense and a useful hook to hang something on. Until Farage and UKIP obtained a significant number of seats in Parliament that could really gum up the works they weren't going to have any affect whatsoever. They never had more than two MPs (and one of those due to defection and they didn't have two for very long) and because of first past the post their percentage of the national vote meant diddly squat to Westminster.

The argument would have held some sway if, even though they didn't get many actual seats, UKIP suddenly gained 30+ share of the national vote in the general election in the run up to the referendum. They didn't get anywhere near it.

Quartz2208 · 12/11/2019 08:12

So Conservatives get enough to prevent anyone else winning but not enough for a majority leading to chaos and potential no deal. What Farage really wants

Or it gives the Conservatives a majority and he gets the hard right deal as a compromise

So it’s win win for him

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 12/11/2019 08:14

I long for someone of the calibre of David Milliband

I had my head in my hands when the Labour party chose Ed over David. He didn't have an ounce of David's talent. It was a twilight zone moment. I think Labour are still there in the Twilight Zone.

SweetSummerchild · 12/11/2019 08:17

He is only targeting marginal labour seats splitting the Brexit vote and taking the chance away from the Torres

That’s one possibility. The other is that he’s targeting the generational Labour voters who’d rather die than vote tory under any circumstances but are also diehard leavers and so won’t vote for Corbyn. This may have the same effect that it had in 2015 through UKIP in that more votes were ‘lost’ to them from Labour supporters than Conservative supporters thus giving the majority vote to the Conservatives.

In 2017 the UKIP voters went back to Labour, but Labour were at that time promising an end to freedom of movement, Brexit and no second referendum.

After his announcement yesterday the bookies odds on a conservative majority went from 10/11 to 4/7 and a hung parliament from 11/10 to 13/8. A labour majority went from 20/1 to 33/1. The bookies certainly think that he’s done the tories a favour.

Quartz2208 · 12/11/2019 08:20

Oh yes the what if moment is the Miliband brothers and labour leadership. Somewhere there is a universe where David was voted leader

I want to live there

ShatnersWig · 12/11/2019 08:20

Ed only won in the end due to the electoral college that gives the trade unions a big chunk of votes. Had it been down to MPs, MEPs and just members of the PLP, David would have been elected leader.

wonkylegs · 12/11/2019 08:21

He's not a genius, he's what is commonly known as a shit stirrer and publicity whore.
I'm pretty sure he just likes the attention and to be 'controversial' he doesn't actually want to win anything he enjoys the pantomime and the drama.
He's the same ilk at Katie Hopkins - likes the reaction that being a twat gets but doesn't actually want to do anything about the things they rally against.

Tvstar · 12/11/2019 08:21

What ever you think of him, he has clearly put country before party or personal ambition. So good for him. A rare honourable thing in these times

Original poster
beingchampion · 12/11/2019 08:22

I'd forgotten about this thread, it was a knee jerk reaction to catching up with the lunchtime news. He's on the tele again this morning, how are we letting him tug so many strings?

OP posts:
ShatnersWig · 12/11/2019 08:25

Tvstar please tell me you're being ironic?

Honourable would be actually forming a political party, not a limited company with two shareholders. Oh, and honourable would be returning the deposits of all those who were standing for GE that he has now, unilaterally with no discussion with anyone else (because it's not a party but a limited company), dictated won't now stand. Where's that money going then? To the two shareholders?

If he thought the EU was so hideous, the honourable thing to do would be refuse the huge pension he's going to get. The honourable thing to do would have been not to ensure his children got German passports so they would retain freedom of movement.

He's a snake oil conman.

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 12/11/2019 08:29

Me too Quartz2208

Ed only won in the end due to the electoral college that gives the trade unions a big chunk of votes.

Ahhhh....idiots.....

There was brief hope after the mess though with Chuka Umunna, but he bowed out the race (then has been inexplicably sulky and irritating since) he was the last viable candidate Labour had.

CherryPavlova · 12/11/2019 08:30

What ever you think of him, he has clearly put country before party or personal ambition. So good for him. A rare honourable thing in these times. How naive can people be?
We no longer have democracy. We have corruption at the highest level. We have all the seeds for an extreme right wing surge planted.

To think that Nigel Farage is a political genius.
CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 12/11/2019 08:36

If he thought the EU was so hideous, the honourable thing to do would be refuse the huge pension he's going to get

When questioned as to why he wouldn't refuse his EU pension I believe his response was "Why should my family suffer?"

ShatnersWig · 12/11/2019 08:44

Catherine That's the man who also said if the referendum result was 52/48 (but in favour of Remain) it wouldn't be over, not by a long chalk, isn't it?

I've just seen on Twitter some of the candidates that Nigel has now decreed should stand down have started tweeting UKIP asking if they need any candidates now that Nigel has "sold them down the river for a peerage". Seems some of his own followers have finally woken up to the conman.