Farage on UKIP's Success: Voters Don't Want Perfect Politicians

UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage spoke about UKIP’s recent success on Friday’s “Laura Ingraham Show.” He argued that UKIP’s success demonstrates that “if you actually trust people, if you show leadership, if you show principle, they’ll warm to it.”

He also said that he believes UKIP’s straightforward messaging resonates with voters on a level that the highly polished politicking of traditional UK parties.  He blasted the traditional establishment of UK politics, stating “British politics has been transformed…when I was a boy, our Parliament was full of real people with life experience before going into politics…our leaders in Britain now, virtually all go to the same school, all go to the same Oxford College, all do the same degree, none of them have ever worked.”

Farage added that he has no problems telling voters that he’s flawed because people care more about principles than political appearances, “I’m deeply flawed…should I hide that? Should I pretend to the Great British public that I’m something different to what I am? No, there’s no point, and that’s what the rest of them do.  The rest of them try and make out they are different human beings than what they are. And I think, that, actually, voters know, voters actually quite like people who have got a few flaws because the voters are flawed themselves too.  So this sort of, shiny bright, perfect, image that a politician tries to give, and the picture of him with the wife and the kids, I don’t think people need that.  I think what they want to know is why are you in politics? Are you in politics because you actually want to do something or are you in politics for rank and position?” he argued.

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