Nigel Farage is the most influential politician of his generation never to have held ministerial office. His campaigning prowess was instrumental in taking Britain out of the European Union. The methods he used, ratcheting the terms of debate ever rightwards, galvanising public dissatisfaction on a range of issues and connecting it to immigration, are now being deployed to boost his candidacy as a future prime minister.
Opinion polls suggest it could happen. Mr Farage will want the Reform UK annual conference in Birmingham this weekend to project a sense that his march on Downing Street is unstoppable. It can and must be stopped.
