For all the propaganda by the far right Reform UK and their army of ignorant hate merchants about how wonderful their esteemed ‘Gas Them All’ leader is,
The latest poll by YouGov reflects a very different outcome.
He has made a career out of division, fearmongering, and calculated outrage. Beneath the blazer and pint-swilling everyman image lies a relentless self-promoter whose legacy is a Britain more fractured, angrier, and diminished on the world stage. To understand why so many people deeply despise Farage, one must go beyond policy disagreements and examine the nature of his rhetoric and the damage it has caused.
1. He Normalised Xenophobia in Mainstream Politics
Farage didn’t just push for Brexit; he pushed an ugly, insular vision of Britain. His campaigns repeatedly vilified immigrants, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries and Eastern Europe, reducing complex global migration to simplistic scare stories. The “Breaking Point” poster, which mimicked Nazi-era propaganda, was not an anomaly, it was emblematic of a political strategy rooted in racialised fear.
He has consistently scapegoated minorities, fuelling suspicion and hatred under the guise of “telling it like it is.” The result? A surge in hate crimes after the Brexit vote and a public discourse more tolerant of casual racism.
2. A Champion of Dishonesty
Farage was instrumental in pushing the now-infamous lie that Brexit would free up £350 million a week for the NHS, a claim even he distanced himself from after the fact. Time and again, he has peddled misinformation, not as a slip of the tongue, but as a tool of manipulation. He’s played fast and loose with facts, relying on emotion and grievance rather than reason or integrity.
This isn’t robust debate — it’s post-truth populism, and Farage has excelled at it.
3. A Mouthpiece for the Far-Right – Denials Ring Hollow
Despite his attempts to distance himself from the far-right, Farage has walked side by side with it for years. He has openly praised Donald Trump, flirted with conspiracy theories, and shared platforms with figures linked to white nationalism. He rails against “globalists,” “woke mobs,” and “cultural Marxism,” dog whistles that are well understood in the far-right ecosystem.
Farage’s defenders insist he is merely a provocateur, a contrarian. But the company he keeps and the language he uses tell another story: he provides a veneer of respectability to extremism.
4. Hypocrisy of the Highest Order
Farage has built his entire persona on being anti-elite, anti-establishment, and a “man of the people”. Yet he’s a privately educated former stockbroker, the product of privilege, and a beneficiary of the very institutions he pretends to oppose. He rails against EU “gravy trains” while cashing in on generous MEP expenses and pensions.
His anti-lockdown, anti-green, and anti-woke crusades have less to do with principle than opportunism. Wherever there’s outrage to be monetised, you can bet Farage will be nearby — microphone in hand, pint in the other.
5. An Obsession with Attention, Not Solutions
Farage has never been interested in governance. Despite multiple failed attempts to win a seat in Parliament, he’s remained on the political scene by stoking outrage and manipulating media cycles. He thrives not on ideas, but on antagonism. He’s less a politician and more a professional agitator, a man more concerned with headlines than helping people.
He’s offered no credible economic vision for post-Brexit Britain, no coherent immigration policy, and no environmental stance beyond climate scepticism and disdain. He attacks, he disrupts, but he rarely builds.
6. A Legacy of Division
Farage’s true legacy is a Britain more divided than ever. He has legitimised sneering nationalism and undermined international cooperation. He’s helped create a climate in which facts are optional and cruelty is political currency. He didn’t just advocate leaving the EU, he helped reshape British politics in the image of grievance, hostility, and endless culture wars.
And while he revels in his outsider status, he’s anything but: he’s a symptom of the system, exploiting it at every turn for personal gain.
A Dangerous Influence, Not a Folk Hero
Nigel Farage may present himself as a brave truth-teller, but scratch the surface and you find a man who has built his career on deceit, division, and demagoguery. His impact on British politics has been corrosive, and the anger he stirs rarely translates into anything constructive. He is not a patriot; he is an opportunist who sells fear for influence.
For many, he doesn’t simply represent a political opponent; he symbolises the worst tendencies in public life: dishonesty, inflammatory rhetoric, and fundamentally self-serving.
