In true populist spirit, Nigel Farage has once again put a wet finger in the air and felt in which direction the winds are blowing.
His whole political career is based on that;
to read of currents of discontent in British society.
Now it is Boris Johnson's shutdowns of England that are the target.
The Prime Minister's handling of the pandemic is receiving increasingly harsh criticism, and Nigel Farage is not late in taking advantage of the growing dissatisfaction and regaining his place in the spotlight.
A successful concept
Nigel Farage was at the forefront of the leave campaign ahead of the referendum on Britain's EU membership in 2016. Ahead of the 2019 EU parliamentary elections, he formed the Brexit Party, the Brexit Party, which became the election's big winner.
Thanks to the success, Farage was able to act as a blowtorch on the established parties and ensure that Brexit became a reality.
But since then, the party has lost both relevance and members.
By shifting its focus to dealing with the corona pandemic, Farage hopes to gain new attention and new success in the British local elections next year and in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
New focus with Sweden as a model
The Brexit party will be transformed into Reform UK.
In a debate article in the conservative daily newspaper The Telegraph, Nigel Farage and co-author Richard Tice describe the new party's main message.
"Shutdowns do not work.
In fact, they do more harm than good.
But there is a credible alternative that is recommended by some of the leading epidemiologists and doctors in the world.
That's the Great Barrington Declaration.
It is applied in practice to a large extent in Sweden, with success ", they write.
The Great Barrington Declaration is a research call that calls on the countries of the world to build herd immunity until there is an effective vaccine.
This should be done by returning life to normal for those who do not run such a high risk of becoming seriously ill from covid-19.
Vulnerable groups must be protected in the meantime.
Recast the political system
Nigel Farage has an overarching goal: to fundamentally change the political system.
Now that the second national shutdown in England is likely to take effect soon, he sees his chance to once again take a seat in the debate and influence government policy.
Because even though almost three quarters of the English support a new shutdown while only 23 percent are against, opposition to the shutdowns is growing in Boris Johnson's own Tory party.
Nigel Farage and his Reform UK will be the only party in parliament that has been declared anti-lockdown and it could attract voters from the Conservative Party.
The question is whether the PR genius Farage can once again succeed with the feat of putting pressure on the government to such a mild degree that it is forced to change its policy.