Farage struck by milkshake at UK election campaign launch

London: Two people were arrested after a milkshake was thrown over divisive populist figure Nigel Farage while he was launching his candidacy to win the parliamentary seat of Clacton in the UK general election.

The leader of the Reform UK party was leaving a pub in the seaside town in Essex, north-east of London, after several media interviews on the first day of campaigning when a woman threw what witnesses said was a banana milkshake from McDonald’s over his face and suit jacket. The incident was captured by several photographers.

A woman throwing a drink over Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he launches his election candidacy.Credit: Getty Images

Essex police said a 25-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of assault. A man was also detained on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker.

“Both individuals remain in custody for questioning,” a police spokesperson said.

Farage, a proponent of Brexit and a seven-time candidate at UK general elections without winning, was walking to the Reform party bus at the time.

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage was drenched after a woman threw a milkshake over him on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images

The bombshell announcement of his candidacy, a headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, came just days after he said he would not run because it was more important to support his ally, Donald Trump, in the US presidential election in November.

The woman, who later identified herself to the BBC as “Victoria”, said she “just felt like it” and it was not a premeditated attack.

“He doesn’t stand for me, he doesn’t represent anything I believe in, or any of the people around here,” she said. “He doesn’t represent us, he’s not from here.”

There are particular sensitivities over the safety of MPs in Britain following the murders of Labour’s Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative Sir David Amess in 2021 by constituents. Concerns have been amplified since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

Home Secretary James Cleverly, who is responsible for law and order issues, said the assault was “unacceptable”, as it would be for any candidate.

“There is no excuse to resort to behaviour like this. We may disagree, but we debate, and then we vote,” he posted on social media. “That’s democracy.”

Labour also condemned the attack, with Cleverley’s likely successor, Yvette Cooper, saying it was “completely unacceptable and wrong”.

“No one should face intimidation or assault in an election campaign. Thank you to the police for responding,” she said.

GB News reported on Tuesday that up to six Tory candidates could now switch to Reform UK after Farage’s shock decision to lead the party into polling day.

The candidates, at least one of whom was a Conservative MP in the last parliament, are in a race against time to make up their minds.

Farage chose to run in an electorate where more than 74 per cent of constituents voted to leave the European Union at the 2016 referendum. While he stands some chance of defeating Clacton’s Conservative incumbent and being elected on July 4, he acknowledged that his larger goal was to lead a “real” opposition to a Labour Party government if the governing Conservative Party lost, which polls predict.

Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system – in which the candidate with the highest number of votes in each area wins – makes it unlikely that Reform could win many seats. But the party could contribute to Conservatives’ defeat in some areas.

Farage, formerly leader of the UK Independence Party and the Brexit Party, later stood in front of Reform UK’s battle bus, holding a milkshake aloft for the cameras.

Nigel Farage holds a milkshake after the incident.Credit: Getty Images

He told the crowd of journalists: “My milkshake brings all the people to the rally”, a reference to the 2003 R&B hit Milkshake by Kelis.

Earlier, Farage told a rally he hoped that having a national figure representing the constituency would “put Clacton on the map”.

“No longer will you be ignored; I hope I can get investment that will bring jobs,” he said. “I will stand up and fight for you ... send me to parliament to be a bloody nuisance.”

He said the Tories should “pay a big price” for betraying the promises of Brexit.

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