How Nigel Farage's attempt to copy Donald Trump is backfiring badly – Alistair Carmichael
The most common British response to a politician who takes himself too seriously is to make fun on them
In all my time being involved in politics, I believe I can safely say I have never campaigned for any party other than my own. In a two-horse race between Nigel Farage and Count Binface, however, I might just be tempted to break that streak.
Faced with looming investigations into millions of pounds’ worth of gifts and donations – and the sources thereof – Farage this week took the brave decision to take a holiday from parliament and abandon his Clacton constituents. By triggering a by-election and running for his own seat, Farage believes he can short-circuit scrutiny and use the people he was supposed to serve as a shield from accountability.
The details may be different but the attitude is familiar to anyone who follows politics on the other side of the Atlantic. Farage is mimicking Donald Trump in trying to undermine the institutions that might challenge him. Early indications, however, suggest that Farage’s efforts are likely to blow up in his face.
Farage’s self-absorption
The first indications of this came when all the major parties announced, one by one, that they would not play along with Farage’s charade – robbing him of the political foils on which he relies to generate traction (and leaving a dustbin-headed satirical character as Reform’s most serious rival).
It is not the first time that a by-election has been called, only for other parties to refuse to engage. In 2008, Conservative MP David Davis forced a by-election in his own seat to protest against the government’s ID card plans (an issue on which, it is worth noting, I agree with him).
The outcome was a foregone conclusion, but by putting himself up against a string of radical right-wing parties and joke candidates, much of Davis’s political credibility was lost by the end of the campaign. In his defence, he at least took his decision on a long-held point of principle. Farage has instead chosen this path through brazen self-interest and self-absorption.
The idea that there might be a public interest in the millions of pounds flowing into his coffers from various wealthy individuals does not, it seems, count for much as far as Farage is concerned – a view he clearly shares with the US President.
British scepticism endures
Reform and Farage have already pre-emptively attacked the House of Commons Standards Committee as a “kangaroo court” using “foul means” to destroy him – while flinging mud at journalists and other institutions at every opportunity. It is the Trump playbook to a tee.
The trouble for Farage, however, is that our institutions and our politics are not the same as America’s. Even now, the most common British response to a politician who takes himself too seriously is to mock and make fun – Binface and all. We have no excuse for complacency about the future of our democracy in the UK, but to date our institutions have been stronger, and our scepticism about populist attacks endures.
In the end, and despite the temptation, I suspect that my record of campaigning only for Liberal colleagues will remain intact. When it comes to his Trumpian tactics, however, people of all political leanings can agree: Nigel Farage should face the bin.
Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland
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