There are probably half a dozen people he’s threatened to sue in the past year for defamation, no case has been started yet.
Nige is making a statement at 14h UK time about his politicial future, apparently.
He’s resigning to force a by-election which will be ‘anti-establishment’, for the voters of Clacton to decide. It’s taken nearly half an hour to say that and that he’ll be standing in the by-election.
He says he’s done nothing wrong financially and seems to think he’s being victimised.
“This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It’s a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment to frankly tell them where to go, and that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election.”
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If the Standards Committee finds he broke the rules, and if Farage is re-elected, can it still impose a 10-day suspension on him as an MP, thus triggering the recall process and the risk of yet a further by-election?
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Are you allowed to resign and then stand for reelection? Oh I suppose like a vote of confidence. Ugh. Ghastly man.
I bet you can’t 
He’s fallen on his sword and now it’s a new game.
It’s a brilliant ploy.
@billybutcher How do you consolidate threads Billy? I was too busy starting one to notice this one.
That would be very interesting. The report might be ready in September, I read earlier.
@vero , I think you can. Before he spoke some of the pundits guessed he might trigger a by-election. I imagine he wants to stick it to the ‘establishment’ before the report comes out.
I’ve just watched Farage’s resignation speech. It was great. Full of half truths and misinformation of course, but extremely palatable and rabble rousing to his knuckle dragging supporters. I suspect they will lap it up.
It can, of course, be summed up as him jumping before he was pushed. But he stopped the debate about his dodgy funding, he’s set himself up as the victim, he’s disparaged Labour, the Tories and the Media, brought their ethics into question and then threw down the gauntlet. All in a fifteen minute speech. Great soap opera stuff.
If he is elected again I think his chances of making it No. 10 will only be enhanced.
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DARVO all the way, repulsive little creep.
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But my goodness he’s good at it and it comes naturally to him, He’s a very, very dangerous person.
They were postulating over the weekend that he’d throw in the towel
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Oh quite. Very good at what he does, deplorable as I may find it. Do you know the expression ‘tristement célèbre’ ? It applies to him.
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I had to look DARVO up 
So did I, but don’t let on 
Not a misspelled abbreviation of “Darlington”, then?
@billybutcher Thanks 
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Whilst I accept there is a process to go through surely the powers that be in Westminster must already have enough information on the £5 million to be able to judge whether he has a case to answer or not?
The crazy thing is unless any inquiry is started and concluded pretty quickly he could resign, be re-elected then found to have not obeyed the rules which could trigger another by-election which he wins again and ends up back in parliament.
The Guardian live coverage mentioned the possibility of there being a second by-election if the standards commissioner resurrects the investigation and finds him to be at fault.
If..?
A definite I’d wager!
As you say, he is a natural.
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If the parliamentary standards committee find him in breach of parliamentary standards and if parliament vote to sanction him and if he is suspended for 10 sitting days or more and if at least 10% of his constituents demand a by-election than there would be a second one, whatever the outcome of this bit of theatrics.
I’m not sure what he sees to gain by this - some sort of future framing that he has been “tried by the people” and found not guilty (which he won’t have been) perhaps allowing him to claim that “the establishment” is trying to knock him down.
Perhaps he is just trying a stunt which puts him in the media spot light in a way which he controls (which has clearly slipped in the last few days).
Dunno.
But 100% grift whatever the reason.
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