Here, via the Daily Telegraph, is UKIP’s Nigel Farage, scourge of van Rompuy. The Liberal-Democrat leader, the unbearably unctious Nick Clegg, may be claiming, ludicrously but effectively, to represent the new politics, but, for all his flaws, Farage, by contrast, is the real thing. Sadly, voting for UKIP is a self-defeating exercise for those who want to see Labour thrown out of office. That said, in seats where the Tories have no hope of winning, a vote for UKIP is a useful way of piling up UKIP’s tally nationally and is a good way to go. As for Farage himself, he’s running in Buckingham, constituency of the Speaker of the House of Commons, a contest traditionally not fought by the main parties. This means that Buckingham’s Conservatives have the chance to vote for Farage with a clean conscience. Let’s hope they know what to do.