NIGEL FARAGE’S self-styled image as a pint-drinking bloke clashes harshly with the footage of him by undercover activists swilling champagne, shucking oysters and discussing how to facilitate foreign donations contrary to electoral rules.

The footage exposes perfectly the true face of the man and Reform UK as a party.

While Farage’s facile defence that he “frankly, wasn’t listening” will convince very few, it is unlikely to do much to dissuade voters who have already fallen for Reform’s tricks and scapegoating, if the slew of scandals involving Farage since he entered Parliament have already failed to.

There is a certain complacency and thinking in parts of the left and the trade union movement, that eventually Farage will mess up so clearly and completely that he will be forced from the political stage or that outrage over Farage’s sleaze will eventually break the back of Reform support on its own.

But this is a dangerous illusion.

Not so long ago this scandal — or indeed any of Farage’s many scandals — would have been enough to cause a resignation or even end a political career entirely.

That is definitively no longer the case.

Farage himself has proved it and is continuing to prove it. The man he idolises, Donald Trump — convicted in a civil court of sexual abuse and opening profiteering from the Iran war he started — proves this as well.

In an increasingly “post-truth” media landscape, where the mass and state media are trusted less and less (and not without good reason) even these basic standards of propriety in public life and even legality have evaporated in the face of partisan spin.

Instead of his slew of scandals in and of itself being concerning, Farage has the audacity to tell working people that he has duped that this is in fact evidence that the Establishment is out to get him — ignoring the fact that it was elements of the Establishment that have fostered his whole career, funded him and continue to fund him.

If the rise of the right both in Britain and the US tell us anything about combating it, then it is clear that we cannot wait for the far right to defeat itself through its own corruption or avarice.

This video and these scandals are a line of attack against Farage and Reform UK, but it is a line of attack that needs to be waged by the left and trade union movement.

The detachment and lavish lifestyle of Farage contrasts sharply with the average life in Clacton or any of the working-class communities which he claims to represent.

Farage talks about taking back power and control, all while trying to prostitute himself for foreign money so that shady individuals abroad can pull his strings and spread division and hate in our society.

The corruption in Reform goes far wider than Farage, from the long-standing figures (since 2018) to the gaggle of failed Tory MPs.

Even if Farage were to be forced from his current office, while it would be a blow, there is far from any guarantee this would mean the end of Reform UK.

As well as exposing Farage and Reform UK as a whole for what they are, the left and trade union movement need to have a clear and proactive message and strategy to take into working-class communities where so far Reform UK has capitalised on anger and despair to spread hate and division.

The task of building a mass movement which can do this is an urgent one. We must use the ammunition Reform gives us — but they won’t defeat themselves.