The temper tantrum that triggered Farage's by-election
7/7/202631 min
Nigel Farage says he's "never been angrier in his life". He's accusing the media of intimidating his family. He's claimed standards are being weaponised to go after him. And for that, he's asking the people of Clacton to stomach a by-election and re-elect him as their MP. Farage is framing it as a 'People vs The Establishment' contest - but is it more of a smokescreen to move the conversation away from the growing questions around his finances?
Will the gamble work? And will it actually solve anything for Farage - or is this a Trumpian tactic taken from a point of weakness?
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEmily Maitlis· Host0:00
[upbeat music] This is a global production. With all the anticipation, we had pretty much worked out that there were only two ultimate endings to the announcement that he would make. Will he go, or will he double down and refight it?
Nigel Farage· Soundbite0:18
Today, I will resign.
Lewis Goodall· Host0:19
He described himself today quite intriguingly as an influencer with seven million followers. Usually, if you have to say that you're an influencer, it usually means you're not.
Emily Maitlis· Host0:27
He also makes the case of h- of why it's really important for him to be rich.
Lewis Goodall· Host0:32
And he talked about the idea of being the most, uh, physically attacked, uh, member of Parliament or politician in British history. Well, you might want to tell that to David Amess and to Jo Cox.
Nigel Farage· Soundbite0:40
Enough is enough. And I thought over the weekend, "What shall I do?" I could go out and try and make some real big money. I could go to the USA, where I've got plenty of offers. And then I thought, "Why should I be judged today or in history in the future by Sky News and their ilk? Why should they be the people that decide my fate when, as I repeat, I've done nothing wrong?" I've thought about it hard, and I've decided today, today I will resign as a member of Parliament for Clacton-on-Sea, thereby forcing a by-election, which should happen, I hope, in short order. No, I've decided that the people of Clacton