“I see that our plucky anti-Establishment man of the people firebrand is, to the surprise of nobody whatsoever, at the world’s biggest Establishment corporate toss off event today”.
Farage is part of the Establishment and always has been.
Now that Reform is becoming a repository for failed Conservative politicians such as Zahawi and Jenrick, I expect to see it decline in the polls. Farage’s closeness to Trump isn’t exactly an electoral asset at the moment either.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Farage step aside shortly after the next election, no matter what happens. There are rumours about his health. It looks to me as if Jenrick has been brought in on a promise to take over the leadership. And then the Establishment takeover of Reform will be fully complete.
As an aside, one example of Farage’s fake “man of the people” image which has always bugged me is his photo opportunities with a pint in hand. Usually of something rubbish like Greene King IPA. I have been told by someone who knows him that he actually prefers wine and seldom drinks beer. The pint is merely a prop, like Harold Wilson’s pipe.