Eighth time lucky: Nigel Farage rides Reform UK wave to enter Parliament as MP for Clacton
An uncharacteristically down to earth politician or a figure of hate who has fanned the flames of xenophobia? Nigel Farage's path to becoming an MP has been controversial and divisive.
His election as Clacton's MP on Friday is the triumphant next stop of a long political journey for the 60-year-old.
Having failed on seven other occasions to be elected into Parliament, Farage won the seat of Clacton with almost half of the total votes and his Reform UK party is predicted to significantly outperform expectations for seats and vote share.
It follows him becoming the leader of the party last month, when he unexpectedly threw his hat into the ring for the Essex seat, and in doing so began a chain reaction that has inflicted major electoral damage on the Tory party.
In fact, with Reform having attracted so many would-be Conservative voters, whispers have grown louder among Tory circles that the party should be trying to work with Farage, rather than against him.
So from his 20-year-long fight for Brexit to appearing in the I'm a Celeb jungle, ITV News Anglia has been taking a look at how Farage secured his place in Parliament - and shook up the 2024 General Election along the way.
An election game changer?
Farage announced he would be taking over as leader of Reform UK on 3 June, as he was named as the candidate for Clacton.
On his first appearance in the constituency, and subsequent visits too, crowds of voters turned out to hear what he had to say.
Not all were supportive, with Farage becoming the latest politician to be a victim of milkshake being thrown over him.
It was the first of a number of headline-hitting incidents to surround the Reform leader, as his 2024 campaign proved controversial.
He was widely criticised for saying he had “admired” Vladimir Putin and adding that the West had “provoked” the Russian leader into invading Ukraine.
Meanwhile in his Clacton target seat, campaigners were secretly recorded saying migrants crossing the Channel should be used as "target practice" and branding the LGBTQ+ flag as a "degenerate" ensign.
Four candidates were suspended after offensive remarks, while several candidates defected to back the Conservatives citing "a significant moral issue within certain elements of the party”.
Nevertheless, with Reform winning seats across the country, it is clear the controversies have attracted as many people as they have repelled.
The exit poll predicted the party to win as many as 13 seats, with a 25% share of the vote.
Eighth time lucky - Farage's failed attempts to become an MP
Prior to this week's election, Farage had tried - and failed - seven times to be elected as a member of Parliament.
1994: Eastleigh by-election: Farage's first attempt saw him secure fewer than 1,000 votes as a candidate for the UK Independence Party (Ukip), only narrowly beating the leader of the Raving Monster Loony Party.
1997: Salisbury: As Tony Blair's New Labour won a landslide, it was a much less successful night for Farage, getting just 5.7% of the vote share in Salisbury.
2001: Bexhill and Battle: Standing again four years later, his fortunes did not improve, this time earning 7.8% of votes and finishing last out of the four candidates.
He would suffer similar defeats in 2005 and at the 2006 Bromley and Chislehurst by-election.
2010: Buckingham: At the 2010 and 2015 general elections, Farage enjoyed more success in Buckingham and South Thanet, respectively. In fact, in the latter, Farage finished second, within 2,800 votes of winning.
European joy
While unsuccessful in his attempts to be an MP, in 1999 Farage was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for South East England.
His election would provide him with a platform – as well as crucial funding – to propagate his anti-EU agenda for the next two decades.
In 2016, he finally achieved his goal of getting the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, as the country voted 52%-48% in favour of Leave in a highly divisive referendum.
The pub-loving populist
With a pint in one hand and a cigarette in the other, Farage's bloke-ish bonhomie connected with a section of the electorate who felt forgotten by more conventional politicians.
For others, however, he is a figure of hate, a saloon bar philosopher and ‘little Englander’ whose views on immigration have seen him accused of being a borderline racist, or worse – a charge he has always fervently denied.
Having been elected Ukip leader in 2006, his appearances in Brussels became infamous.
He denounced the new European Council president Herman van Rompuy as having the “charisma of a damp rag” and the appearance of “a low-grade bank clerk”.
Meanwhile, after achieving Brexit in 2016, Farage gloated to the European Parliament: "When I came here 17 years ago and said I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me.
"Well, you're not laughing now."
It is a clip which has since become an internet meme. Building on that recognition value, it was perhaps unsurprising then that Farage's 2024 Reform UK campaign posted comedic videos on social media platforms in an attempt to continue his viral success.
He boasts 820,000 followers and 14.5 million likes on TikTok, a video app popular with voters under 30 - potentially opening up a new swathe of would-be Reform voters.
His posts have ranged from Euros-fever pub chants, Brexit Spotify playlists and even drinking a McDonald's milkshake after one was thrown at him in Clacton.
Farage has clearly been attempting to sway a new generation with his populist pub-loving self-image.
The strategy followed his appearance on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which also introduced him to younger voters.
While his laddish manner has appealed to some voters, others have accused Farage of continuously trying to exploit anti-immigrant sentiments.
Whether it is all part of a masterplan or just rolling with the punches to make the most of the opportunities presented, Nigel Farage's career has seen him become one of the most influential politicians in the post-war period and his time in Parliament is only just beginning.
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