Giles Sheldrick asks why Nigel Farage, the most consequential politician of the past generation, remains overlooked for a knighthood. He argues that when Sir Keir Starmer compiles his resignation honours list, it will be filled with rewards for those who deserve nothing, but Farage's name will be conspicuously absent.
Starmer's Resignation Honours List: Rewarding Failure?
Sheldrick predicts that Starmer's list will include many political nonentities, rewarded for failure in the time-honoured tradition of incentivising incompetence. Starmer himself was knighted in 2014 for "services to law and criminal justice", yet yesterday he quit as Prime Minister after making a mess of the country, according to Sheldrick.
Exactly a decade ago, Britain voted to leave the European Union in what Sheldrick describes as a "peasants' revolt" that shook the establishment. Farage, who campaigned tirelessly for Brexit, was shunned and ostracised before the referendum and has been ever since.
Farage's Sacrifice and Vision
Farage, 62, has endured divorce, remarriage, cancer, and a near-fatal plane crash while pursuing his 25-year dream of Brexit. He said: "Somebody had to do it. I believed this was the most important political question we would ever face in our lifetime. I didn't see anyone else out there that had the guts to do it, so I did, and yes there was a price to pay."
He added: "Some of the things I have campaigned for are now mainstream political opinions in this country. Yet there are still numbers of people who attempt to demonise. Yes, we have won, but the price is I have no life and never will. I don't regret anything we did. It had to be done. Ultimately, it was worth it, but I don't accept the unfairness of some of it."
Establishment Stitch-Up?
Farage claims he has been the victim of a long establishment stitch-up. Sheldrick notes that while Starmer will likely receive honours despite his failures, Farage remains overlooked. Farage's prize, Brexit, might have been won if not fully delivered, but he has something greater: the backing of the British people.
Sheldrick concludes that Farage cares not one bit about the snub, and his honour is the support of the public—something Starmer would do well to ponder.
