Nigel Farage – A Man For All Seasons?

Tim Bouverie, political producer, sends his assessment of Ukip’s big day – and how the party’s leader is faring in the face of falling polls.

Paul Nuttall, UKIP’s deputy leader, introduced Nigel Farage today as, “the man who cuts across class boundaries”.

Is this true?  Well, to a certain extent,  yes.

Though many people loathe him, you would be hard pressed to divide Farage’s detractors and supporters along class lines. He has the backing of hedge fund managers, who want to leave the EU and blue collar workers who are worried about immigration.  He is at home drinking champagne but is also the only politician most voters could imagine going for a pint with.

This broad appeal was in display today in Thurrock – one of Ukip’s key target seats.  Not everyone wants Nigel Farage to be prime minister – one woman didn’t think he would be able to take the strain – but otherwise almost everyone we spoke to,  from a variety of backgrounds, had something positive to say about the Ukip leader.

The other leaders are “all the same”, trotting out their pre-scripted, focus-group-honed, soundbites. Farage, by contrast, is off the cuff (he rarely speaks from a script), straight talking and, for many, attractively un PC.

In a word: authentic.  And authentic cuts through class and traditional loyalties.