For a long time I have been a massive fan of Nigel Farage. I have had the pleasure of being in his company and I think he is a deeply kind man.
He is inarguably the most successful politician in recent times, and what makes him so special is that he has managed to achieve that success without stepping foot in the House of Commons.
He is an unbelievably talented and powerful man and somebody who would make a fantastic British Prime Minister. He is a statesman and a real presidential figure.
He is loved by people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds and is one do the very few politicians who can connect with the views of ordinary working-class Britons.
However, I do not think he should be the MP for Clacton. He is simply not the right man for the job.
If he is elected in Clacton for Reform – he will not become Prime Minister or even end up in government. Additionally, since it is likely that Reform won’t be the major opposition party, it is more than likely that he will be a backbench opposition MP. Backbench opposition MPs serve no purpose other than voting with their parties, serving their constituents on local matters, and being amazing local MPs.
Amazing local MPs are vitally important. No man has taught me that more than our lovely MP for Peterborough Paul Bristow.
He helped over 8,000 people, some of them extremely vulnerable. He supported the city on local issues whether it was the big things like getting £125 million investment or going to local events. Sometimes it was the simple things. One of my favourite constituency visits of his was to go and see a broken fence, or a tree…
Do you really think Nigel Farage is going to spend his time in Clacton visiting trees and fences as a powerless backbencher instead of doing what he does so well on the global stage?
Clacton is home to Jaywick – the most deprived town in England – and the constituency as a whole faces a lot of challenges. There are people in Clacton who desperately need a good local MP like Paul, or like their previous MP Giles Watling. Clacton needs an MP who will spend all of their time there helping solve local issues, not someone who will be on the Trump tour doing what Farage does so well.
This isn’t me suggesting that Farage isn’t a good politician – the fact is – he’s too good to be tied down as a powerless backbench MP. He won’t be there for Clacton to solve their local issues and to be there for people, some of whom need desperate help, because he has bigger things to do.
Farage becoming the MP for Clacton will hold him back and it will hold Clacton back.
It is a lose-lose situation for both parties. I’m sure and I hope there will be a time when we will get Farage in government.
But now is not that time and Clacton is not the place.
