Nigel Farage unveils latest policy idea after small boats plan ends in disaster

Mirror political correspondent Dave Burke writes inIt’s a tricky time for Nigel Farage at the moment.

There are serious questions knocking around about his own and his party’s finances, and it’s clearly taking a toll. Polls show Reform are slipping while Labour enjoys a ‘Burnham bounce’.How long that’ll last for remains to be seen, but Mr Farage’s personal ratings have also nosedived in recent weeks.

And things aren’t looking that brilliant going forward, either. If he wins the farcical Clacton by-election – which he is almost certain to do – he goes back to a heap of problems in Westminster.

A Parliamentary standards probe into an undeclared £5million ‘gift’ he was given by Thailand-based tech billionaire Christopher Harborne is expected to reopen, and could trigger yet another contest in the coming months.

Last week he decided to try and get on the front foot with announcements on immigration, which is usually his safe space. But that proved to be a disaster.

His not-very-detailed plan to use the Royal Navy to stop small boats was shredded almost immediately by the French government, who said it would be a violation of its sovereignty. And Mr Farage’s home affairs chief, Zia Yusuf, was brutally mocked for announcing firms who employ workers with no right to work in the UK would face jail terms under Reform.

The problem for him was that Labour has already brought in such a law. He was branded a “pillock” as a result.

Today Mr Farage is expected to announce plans to send foreign criminals overseas to serve their sentences. How much detail we’ll get on how that works remains to be see, but according to reports talks will be held with El Salvador later this year.

Will it disintegrate as fast as last week’s policies? The devil will be in the detail, but that scarcely matters for Mr Farage.

At the moment Reform needs headlines that aren’t about sleaze, and the party leader will welcome any opportunity to get them.