A quiz question for politics nerds: what connects Eastleigh, Salisbury, Bexhill and Battle, South Thanet, Bromley and Chislehurst, Buckingham and – here’s a clue – South Thanet again? The answer is Nigel Farage failing to become an MP; he has had seven rejections in six constituencies over 21 years.
It is a record of failure that hasn’t prevented Farage from being one of the most influential politicians of his generation. He didn’t need a seat in parliament to hold sway over the Conservative party, and he didn’t need to be a Conservative to ratchet Britain out of the European Union.
