Farage spoke to Sky News after the Runcorn result. Jon Craig asked him what his message was for Kemi:
“Kemi Badenoch – please stay. I mean please don’t resign, we want you to stay on as leader, I’ll put some money in if you like to keep you there. No she’s got an impossible job the Conservative Party is split and what you’ll see tomorrow as the West Country results come in is you’ll see a stack of 2021 Conservative votes will have come to us but also gone to the Liberal Democrats as well – the Conservatives are standing in the middle of the road in terms of their own supporters and getting hit by vehicles coming both ways.”
To Starmer Farage said “well just keep going, you’re making life easy.” He adds: “What tonight does is it embeds us we now are the opposition party in the United Kingdom to the Labour Party and the Tories – frankly – are a waste of space.” Six votes more the richer…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”