Hearts & Minds: Farage is no Donald Trump, but he’s learning fast

Nigel Farage is offering non-doms the opportunity to pay a £250,000 one-off fee to avoid paying UK tax for life. If elected, the Reform UK leader says his party would make the offer, with the proceeds going to the country’s lowest paid workers. If elected. Because Farage must first convince the electorate he is sufficiently responsible. Which is why some claim he should pay more attention to what follows the floating of an idea – it’s the analysis and in this case, the shooting down in flames.

Certainly, it’s intelligent comms to not present too soon, to ensure everything has been thought through before making any announcement. It isn’t always easy, putting on the brakes but it is part of the role. Pointing out what may happen, how the media and social media will react, knowing when to say no or at least, to wait, can often prove crucial.

With typical aplomb and a populist’s eye, Farage dubbed his policy ‘a Robin Hood-style’ move. The party said about 2.5m workers earning a full-time salary of under £23,000 would be given £600 if 6,000 non-doms paid for a so-called Britannia Card at the cost of £1.5bn. The money would go directly into their bank accounts. It would be taking from the rich to give to the poor, same as the legendary outlaw did. But just as there is little evidence that Robin Hood ever existed, Farage was criticised for also lacking credibility.

There is another rationale, which is that Farage can say it because he can. He can say what he likes, never mind the fallout. He is not even the official opposition (yet) so he can afford to stray to the far reaches of improbability. If it makes a splash, garners attention and puts him on the right ride of ordinary people, then why not?

This is his approach and it is working. Even in the midst of wars, Farage’s announcement generated oodles of publicity. Whether it made sense did not necessarily matter. For those who did not bother to follow what his critics said, the gist was impressive – the quick take, the headline, the soundbite, produced the result he wanted.

Someone else is a proven master at reshaping the narrative, upsetting the news agenda and the established order. Farage may not be Donald Trump but he is learning fast.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.