Saturday 24 August 2013

UKIP, Nigel Farage, populist politics

This interview with Nigel Farage was a slightly peculiar read.  It's hardly that surprising that a populist politician is, in person, affable and good company - that's really his purpose in life.

He's often praised for his 'refreshing honesty' but I think 'honesty' is the wrong word entirely.  He's refreshingly candid, sure.  He certainly provides a stark contrast to other politician's default mode of robotic soundbite-spewing.  As an outsider who shows just how homogeneous and monotonous the rest of our politicians have become he has value.

However, no amount of blokey affability should distract from the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of his politics.  He's a Little Englander through and through and the fact that there are a lot of those about doesn't make it any better.