Will Nigel Farage’s Reform come up Trumps?
Is this the year Nigel Farage finally breaks into the political mainstream or is this yet another false dawn?
This year’s British election is certainly not lacking in entertainment. It was crazy enough that Rishi Sunak called an early election for the 4th of July. All the other parties are licking their lips to pick up the scraps from a disintegrating Conservative Party. But will Reform UK come out of nowhere and make a breakthrough?
As we can see from above, Nigel Farage is a controversial character. People seem to love him or hate him, just like Donald Trump. But will his loyal supporters help him to win seats in the traditionally difficult First Past the Post System (FPTP)? Remember, unlike Proportional Representation, in FPTP, the candidates have to win each individual seat. What percentage of the vote a party has nationally makes little difference.
Before we determine Reform’s chances, it’s worth noting that last week we had another debate. All the party leaders had half an hour to answer questions from the audience. However, the debate was incomplete. Not everyone was invited to the party. While we had Labour’s Sir Kier Starmer, Conservative PM Rishi Sunak, the Lib Dems Ed Davey and the Scottish National Party’s John Swinney, there was no place for Nigel Farage and his newly formed Reform that have taken the…
