British politics just got a whole lot weirder

Chaos and confusion, deadlock and anger — and now UK politicians have even more to worry about.

If ever British politics could be summed up in a single picture, this is it.

Nigel Farage, the pro-Brexit, anti-immigration campaigner, has returned to politics for this month’s European elections as leader of The Brexit Party and was pelted with a the Five Guys banana and salted caramel milkshake as he toured the northern city of Newcastle.

Milkshakes are becoming the weapon of choice for protesters during this campaign, with fast-food outlets including McDonald’s taking them off the menu on police advice when political rallies are held nearby. (Burger King, on the other hand, sparked outrage when it told customers: “We’re selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun.”)

But this is no joke. The drink throwing is emblematic of a bitterly divided country.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum voters narrowly agreed to leave the European Union, and the divorce was supposed to be happen on March 29 this year — but the Government has repeatedly failed to get its plan for the departure and future relationship with the EU through parliament.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage (right) had a milkshake thrown over him during a visit to Newcastle.

The UK was then granted a humiliating extension through until October for it to agree on a deal and leave in an orderly way. And that means this week it has to take part in the European elections to choose representatives for the very bloc it is trying to escape from at a cost of around $185 million.

Combined with huge anger at unpopular Prime Minister Theresa May and her government, as well as distrust of the opposition Labour Party, it is easy to see why aggression is growing among voters.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson had two milkshakes chucked at him in two days while he was campaigning for the elections, while Ukip candidate Carl Benjamin, who joked about raping a Labour MP, was also attacked with a shake.

The incident was not celebrated by Mr Farage’s rivals who are facing increasing public anger by the political deadlock in the UK.

Mrs May and Labour figures condemned the incident, as did the husband of slain MP Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016. Brendan Cox said politicians should be able to “campaign without harassment, intimidation and abuse”.

Brexit leader Mr Farage was fuming at his security team for allowing the incident to happen. After the shake was chucked, he was heard moaning of his bodyguards’ “complete failure” as they whisked him away, reported The Sun.

“You could have spotted that a mile away,” he complained, adding: “How could this happen?”

Voters are asking the same thing about the Brexit process.

Theresa May is thought to be in her final weeks as prime minister.

DO OR DIE FOR MAY’S BREXIT DEAL

Mrs May today began a last-ditch attempt to get her Brexit plan across the line by vowing to tweak the proposal to win enough backbench or opposition MPs’ support to secure its passage through the divided House of Commons.

The cabinet is meeting on Tuesday to work out details of what Mrs May has called a “bold offer” to win support for her Brexit agreement. But ministers are divided and look unlikely to support the kind of sweeping changes that could change MPs’ minds.

The economic impact of a no-deal Brexit is what many fear.

The divorce deal has been rejected three times by the UK parliament. Mrs May says she will try again in early June by asking parliament to vote on a withdrawal agreement bill implementing the departure terms. By presenting it as a bill, she can avoid the Speaker’s ruling the same motion cannot be repeatedly voted on.

Labour foreign affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said the attempt was doomed and was Mrs May’s “own political version of the last rites”.

It is expected to include changes in contentious areas like workers’ rights, the hated Irish backstop, and environmental protections.

It isn’t just Labour who believe the bill is doomed. MPs from Mrs May’s Conservative Party also think it will never get through.

Attention is now shifting to what will happen after the bill fails. The PM has already indicated she would resign when her deal was approved — but it now appears she will set the timetable for her departure regardless early next month. If the deal is again defeated, her resignation could be immediate.

Pro-Brexit Conservative MPs blame Mrs May for the political chaos and want to replace her with a staunch Brexit supporter, such as former foreign secretary and ex-mayor of London Boris Johnson who is likely to advocate taking the UK out of the EU without a deal.

But in a sign of the tension within the party, Finance Minister Phillip Hammond warned against doing that in a speech to a business audience in London.

Mr Hammond said politicians “on the populist right” were trying to redefine Brexit to mean a no-deal departure, and “to advocate for ‘no deal’ is to hijack the result of the referendum and, in doing so, knowingly to inflict damage on our economy and our living standards”.

He went on to say the 2016 referendum campaign was clear the UK would “leave with a deal”, and he would not consider a no-deal scenario.

“I will continue to fight, in the face of this polarisation, for a negotiated Brexit; an outcome that respects the British people’s decision to leave while recognising that there is no mandate for a no-deal exit, and that we have an absolute obligation to protect Britain’s jobs, businesses and future prosperity,” he said.

With no deal and no way forward in sight, milkshakes being hurled could be the least of their worries — but the perfect symbol of this sorry mess.

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