I HAVE interviewed Nigel Farage twice (and hope to interview him again fairly soon).

The first time was in July 2013, when he was in Belfast to address UKIP members and supporters in Belfast.

This was three years before the Brexit referendum and two years before David Cameron had included the promise of one in the Conservative’s 2015 election manifesto. But already Farage was very clear about his direction of travel.

“UKIP just doesn’t talk about who governs Britain, but about how Britain should be governed. The entire UKIP manifesto is about what we do after we have left the European Union,” he said.

Noel Doran: If King Charles can respect Irish culture, why can’t the DUP?

“If UKIP was able to become the top party in the UK in the Euro elections in 2014 then that is a political earthquake. There is a huge message being sent out to our political classes. It’s one that will give us such momentum that unless they seriously respond to it then I think anything is possible.”

Well, in the May 2014 Euro elections that’s precisely what happened. UKIP pushed Labour and the Conservatives into second and third place; frightening Cameron so much that he decided to play the referendum card two years later.

The result also unsettled Labour, opening its eyes to the possibility that a key part of its........

© The Irish News