"Are you working on Saturday?" a Reform UK contact texted me late one Thursday night a few weeks ago.

"I can arrange to. What's happening? I answered. "Is this the Nigel Farage visit?"

I was disappointed when he replied that it was Mr Farage's deputy Richard Tice who was heading to Hamilton that Saturday and not Mr Farage himself.

But reassured it was only a select few papers including The Herald - that were being invited - and not the whole press pack - I regarded the assignment as something of a "semi scoop" and re-arranged my day off.

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After spending most of the morning and afternoon of Saturday, May 17 in Hamilton speaking to voters and quizzing Mr Farage's number two, I'm glad I did.

It was quite an........

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