The Political Power Of Dairy: Nigel Farage Thinks Democracy Is Dead Because Everyone Wants To ‘Milkshake’ Him

If you haven’t seen the video, picture this: Nigel Farage walking across Newcastle City Centre on a sunny Tuesday morning. In the distance, a lone man, waiting patiently, gripping in one hand a Five Guys milkshake. Not so suddenly (it’s so casual it almost feels like Farage's security were in on it) he launches the milkshake at Farage, and is quickly walked off by a community support officer.

The perpetrator, Paul Crowther, 32, has since been charged with common assault and criminal damage, but we imagine whatever price he ways will feel worth it for the satisfaction of watching Farage walk on, his pristine suit dripping in thick, white shake; the obnoxious badge he wears as he campaigns for the European Parliament elections splattered with vanilla sludge. Because, there’s something particularly humiliating – and particularly British – about being on the receiving end of dairy-produce that makes it all the more powerful as a protest throw.

Let's be clear: throwing a milkshake at someone – or attacking them in other, pernicious ways – is assault and a criminal offence. Nevertheless, many viewers watched the altercation and jeered, the perpetrator given the same adoration as Egg Boy – the guy who egged Fraser Anning, an Australian politician who blamed Muslim immigration for the Christchurch attack in New Zealand. He was elevated to global hero status for weeks following his egg-based protest. It's not much of a reach to assume that Crowther will likely benefit from the same treatment.

And, of course, Farage has been quite upset by the whole saga. ‘Sadly, some remainers have become radicalised, to the extent that normal campaigning is becoming impossible,’ he wrote on Twitter in response. ‘For a civilised democracy to work you need the loser’s consent, politicians not accepting the referendum result have led us to this.’

It is worth noting that, as political commentators have pointed out, Farage remained unconcerned for "democracy" in 2016 when he appeared on television to denounce observations that Jo Cox's murder by a far-right extremist was nothing to do with the increasingly hostile and divisive environment brought on by whipped-up EU Referendum campaigning. Nor was he so outraged by rape "joke" comments endured by Labour MP Jess Phillips.

Dairy has now become so politically powerful that, as Farage goes along his campaign trail police in Scotland prohibited a local McDonald's from selling milkshakes when he was visiting for a speech. Why dairy, though? Visuals aside, perhaps the smell – especially as it spoils – adds extra punch, so to speak. But dairy-based protests also have quite the history of their own.

While the first known public protest egging was in 1970 against UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson - who was hit in the face - many a famous politician and celebrity has fallen foul of the act. David Cameron, Ed Miliband, John Prescott (who famously punched his egger afterwards), the list goes on. Nigel Farage knows the power of a dairy-protest better than anyone; he was egged back in 2014 when he was the leader of UKIP.

Five years later, it seems milkshaking is the new egging. Wait till they find the cottage cheese, Nige.