Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, could soon be Sir Nigel Farage, according to rumours – and not everyone is happy about it. Speculation is rife that the politician will be knighted in the New Year Honours list, after Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen told Good Morning Britain that he had written to PM Boris Johnson to recommend that Nigel Farage receive a knighthood. He argued: ‘Nigel's campaigned for 25 years for the policy of us leaving the European Union, ultimately something which the majority of the electorate have agreed with and we are now implementing that policy.’
As well as Farage, the MP wants former Tory Grandee Ken Clarke – who, unlike Farage, has been famously pro-Europe – to be knighted also. Andrew Bridgen explained his thinking as: ‘The New Year's Honours list is a way of now - by rewarding those on both sides of the argument - [saying] that we've made a decision and the country now needs to reunite and move forward, which is why I've also recommended Ken Clarke.’
Nonetheless, knighting Nigel Farage – for many, the face of the movement to exit the EU - would be a controversial move for Boris Johnson. Farage has been criticised for 'dog-whistle racism' by figures including Labour's Angela Rayner.
‘Nigel's campaigned for 25 years for the policy of us leaving the European Union, ultimately which most of the electorate have agreed with'
Whether Farage would get an honour became a talking point during the election campaign, when it was reported in October that Farage was approached by a 'middle man' to sound him out over accepting a peerage from the Government. A source told the Mail on Sunday: 'It seems someone thought that if Nigel was given a place in the Lords, he would call off his dogs and make it more likely the Tories would win a majority at the next Election.'
In the event, Farage upset many in his own party by telling more than 300 Brexit Party candidates not to run in Tory-held seats, arguing that it was in the best interests of delivering Brexit. ‘I am going to have some upset people, who have been out there working hard, putting their own money in,’ he said at the time.
Whether it will be a case of ‘arise Sir Nigel’ as 2020 arrives, remains to be seen...
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