EX-UKIP leader Nigel Farage is plotting a return to Westminster — as he launches his new manifesto on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The Brexit champion hopes a wave of popular opinion after appearing in the ITV jungle show could prove to be the leg up he needs to finally win a seat in Parliament at a time when he says the Conservative party is in disarray.
And he knows exactly how to break the ice with sceptical voters — by offering them a pint.
Nigel, 59, told The Sun: “As far as a return to politics is concerned, I might be interested in having another go at some point. I would look at this in the longer term.
“I think the David Cameron appointment is probably, if not the final, then perhaps the penultimate nail in the Conservatives’ election coffin for next year.
“The whole thing is over. They are deteriorating very, very rapidly and there is absolutely no chance of them coming back from this.”
“And the renowned pint-drinker laughed: “My manifesto pledge? Free booze for everybody!”
Now a TV presenter, his inclusion in this year’s jungle line-up has sparked a reaction so strong, it has tempted Farage to stick his hat in the ring once more.
Chatting from a villa on the Australian Gold Coast, Nigel said of taking on the jungle: “In a way it’s like playing double or quits, isn’t it?
“I mean, if I’m a Celebrity does go wrong, it’ll be a disaster.
“But I’ve never, ever been frightened of taking gambles. This is a gamble, but I think it’s worth taking.
“It might change the perception of me as a person, but it won’t change me as a person. I am what I am — but I’m remarkably normal.”
A recent boom in popularity has left Nigel assured he is joining the ITV show in a stronger position than shamed ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock last year.
Farage made headlines recently after private bank Coutts closed his account over his political views.
In June he won a Television and Radio Industries Club award for Best New Presenter for his work on GB News.
Nigel said: “This year has been a great year for me. The banking stuff, where I’ve genuinely been able to get support across the political spectrum — which is not something I’ve been known for.
“So some would say, ‘Well, why risk it?’ But in my view, if things are going well, just keep going.
“Another manifesto pledge is — do what I’m doing, get outside your normal daily life and do something different and take a bit of a chance.
“I’m not an exceptional person. I just happen to be somebody who has ideas and works very hard trying to fulfil them.”
Nigel said he hopes the camp will help people see the real him. He said: “I have no intention of going in and arguing about Brexit, but as I find, everybody else wants to”.
And on the backlash against his appearance on the show — which is rumoured to be earning him up to £1million — he said: “Anyone who’s a lover of I’m A Celebrity and who doesn’t watch it just because I’m on it has got to be an incredibly small-minded person.”
