THIS week I looked at Nigel Farage brandishing his copy of Flying Eze’s Broken Britain issue and I thought to myself for the very first time – this happy chap could really be our next Prime Minister.
Once upon a time, the foes of loved to mock him for repeatedly trying and failing to get elected as an MP.
Member of Parliament for Clacton is the bookies’
Now the Member of Parliament for Clacton is neck-and-neck in the
And the big question is — who is going to stop him?
?
There have been areas where the leader has done far better than expected, not least in his ability to manage
Amid the rampant madness of the MAGA White House, there still remains the .
And if that happens, then arch Remainer Starmer could feasibly claim to be the PM who actually made worth all the effort.
But the small boats will not stop any time soon.
And the borders will remain broken.
And a Labour Government so clueless about what it means to run a business have punished the wealth creators and damned our .
The only economic growth we see is among the community.
One good reason for voting Labour was that they would end all the strikes and get Britain working again.
, that claim now seems laughable and the rats grow fat in our rubbish-strewn second city, where a Labour council and a Labour Government cannot persuade a major Labour donor — the Unite union — to clear the mountains of filth.
Now there is the prospect of a summer of discontent, with railways, civil servants, teachers and more joining their comrades in in downing tools.
If Starmer can’t control the unions, why would you ever vote Labour again?
So what about? Can the newish leader prevent Farage from measuring the curtains in 10 Downing Street?
It feels increasingly unlikely. With this Labour Government faltering on so many fronts — , the NHS, the economy — the leader of His Majesty’s opposition should be all over these clapped-out socialists, giving them a good kicking from dawn to dusk every day of the week.
That is not Kemi Badenoch. That is not this Tory opposition who seem worn-out and directionless after all those years in power.
So who can stop Farage becoming PM? Probably only Nigel himself.
He is closer to the President of the United States than any British politician.
That could be an enormous boon for Britain, for Brexit was TOTALLY built on the idea of an intimate trading relationship with America.
Or the relationship could turn out to be a poisoned chalice if Trump continues to lick the boots of a murderous , and if the US continues to treat the UK like every other bunch of freeloading foreigners.
Nigel Farage has many rivers to cross before he reaches Downing Street.
Floating voters still need convincing about the depth of Reform’s talent pool.
But if the Tories and Labour carry on cocking up, then Farage’s party will increasingly look like the natural home for the patriotic, hard-working, -loathing working class.
And then all the chucked milkshakes in the  world  will never wipe that grin off Nigel’s merry mug.
She’s aged no Moore since Ghost
THIRTY-FIVE years after getting her fingers sticky doing pottery with in Ghost, did you think , 62, looked inexplicably unchanged in
As the young lovers say in Ghost – ditto.
Critics need a rocket
MOST astrophysicists agree that nobody has looked as good as in a space suit since Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek.
Is that why Katy and her fellow on their return to planet Earth? Possibly.
Also, nobody can remember Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong ever squealing: “Oh, look at the moon, you guys, look at the moon! I love the moon!”;
Katy and her all-female crewmates on the rocket just seemed to be having a bit too much fun, hence the comparisons to a bunch of “dolled-up damsels”; on a half-cut hen night.
But some of the brutal jibes are bewildering.
, most famous for her appearance in Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video, was merciless.
“You say you care about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet,”; raged Emily.
But for all the inane soundbites and slick uniforms, Katy and the rest climbed into a tin can that went into space at speeds of 2,300mph.
That is hardly risk-free.
Let’s be thankful they landed safely in Texas.
Knowing Amazon’s delivery service, it is a miracle they did not end up in the state next door.
Billy's boost for us
2023 has been miraculously plucked from the ruins of Gaza and returned to her owners.
Israeli Defence Force soldier Aviad Shapira saw the bedraggled pooch in the rubble when the pet trotted towards approaching Israeli troops.
They claim Billy, a cavalier King Charles spaniel, recognised the troops were speaking Hebrew.
Well, maybe.
My guess is this is a dog who is instinctively friendly to everyone – no matter what language they are speaking, no matter what religion, and no matter on what side of the Israel-Palestinian divide they stand.
I had the privilege of owning a cavalier King Charles spaniel for 12-and-a-half years.
I can tell you that cavaliers love everyone.
And that makes them very easy to love.
Hamas slaughtered 60 dogs as well as 1,200 people on October 7.
But in that place of hatred and human misery, this little bundle of uncomplicated love somehow survived.
And somewhere in Billy’s survival, there is a lesson for the entire human race.
Wills and George's footy memories
ONE of my most vivid childhood memories is going to the with my dad.
The huge stadium sitting in the centre of the city like some secret floodlit world. All those adults going totally crazy.
So although and his father suffered as their beloved were knocked out of the , I guarantee that night will become a precious memory.
A lifetime from now, when George remembers his childhood, he will think of that magical night at Villa Park with his dad.
Wish you were here…
YOU can understand the appeal of TV series
The rich, privileged and beautiful go on holiday in some of the most glorious corners of the world – Hawaii, Sicily, Thailand – and have an absolutely rotten time.
The first series – the one with as a spoilt brat – remains the masterpiece.
But the second series in Sicily – the one with Leo Woodall as a sexually promiscuous thug – and the latest in Thailand – with as a doe-eyed “trophy wife”; – have been such hits that the producers have applied to trademark the brand to cover hotels, bars and travel packages.
Two weeks at The White Lotus – murder, infidelity and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
We are already packing our bags.
