Oh dear. Might nasty Nigel Farage be heading back to Thanet?
Writing in the Daily Telegraph on 17th August, the former leader of UKIP and Parliamentary Candidate for South Thanet in 2005 and 2015 said “I’m back”. Although his piece was very much in relation to the disastrous Conservative government BREXIT negotiations, this is very troubling news. I think I can smell a General Election in the air.
Certainly the Tories are beginning a sustained attempt to make it look like they are ‘fixing’ problems in response to public opprobrium. This could well be a precursor to attempt to shore up a troubled party ahead of a fresh election battle. The NHS pay award, plus the £20bn cash injection, housing initiatives and the recent fresh pledge to reform the 10 worst prisons are headline grabbing initiatives that spring to mind.
If Nigel Farage is now back on the campaign trail, this indicates he, his team and backers also have a sense of a looming election. I believe Farage and his cronies will make the very best mileage of a fresh platform.
We’ll need to be ready in Thanet. We already have euro sceptic Tory MPs representing the North and South constituencies of our isle. The ongoing Manston and BREXIT resilience fiasco, combined with our stultified local economy will no doubt provide fertile grounds for a refreshed Farage campaign, whether he stands as a UKIP candidate or with another group of right wing Eurosceptics. I sincerely hope Farage chooses elsewhere in the attempt to secure his long sought after foothold. Let’s face it, the likes of UKIP haven’t exactly been a success in Thanet, have they?