London Letter: British media have pawed the ground for personality narratives in this election
Nigel Farage, newly-appointed leader of British right-wing party Reform UK and the party's parliamentary candidate for Clacton, in a pub during his general election campaign launch in Clacton-on-Sea, England. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP
Farage had been at the venue to announce a new anti-immigration policy for Reform UK, the right-wing party he cofounded and served as honorary president. The policy gathering was ostensibly hosted by Richard Tice, the party’s then-leader. But it was really Farage who was in charge. Within hours Farage was releasing slick campaign videos on social media showing him traipsing through adoring crowds to a soundtrack of Eminem’s Without Me. “Guess who’s back?/guess who’s back?/…. Now, this looks like a job for me/So everybody, just follow me/’Cause we need a little controversy/’Cause it feels so empty without me…”
Jeremy Corbyn, the previous Labour leader who was barred from standing for the party by his successor Starmer, might recoil at the description of him as a political personality. But the vibe at his campaign launch as an independent in Islington, held the night before Farage first graced Glaziers Hall, suggests that is exactly what he has become.
The community centre was filled with people who could best be described as Corbyn fans. Several women wore bright red Team Corbyn T-shirts. The crowd of about 250 waited patiently for his arrival for over an hour. Whereas Farage prefers Eminem, a Corbyn crowd warms up with Bob Marley: Get up, Stand Up blared from the sound system, which then failed once the political speeches started.
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