To engage in British politics is to accept disappointment as a daily ritual. This summer, while basking in the rays of rebellious victory, the Reform UK party, headed by charismatic Nigel Farage, paraded itself as the new voice of the disillusioned, promising to “fill the gap” in the centre-right. 

Yet yesterday, at 7 pm, Farage chose to host his show on the “people’s channel”, otherwise known as GB News, rather than head to parliament and vote against the Smoking Bill — a bill that he considers so egregious that he threatened never to enter a pub again if Labour used it to crack down on an Englishman’s right to a booze-inspired cigarette. 

Inevitability is his defence. The bill was always destined to pass with the strength of 300 or more. His vote was not useful when faced with the controlling hand of the “Cromwellians”, as he put it. This sentiment is not shared by the other four Reform UK MPs, all of whom put themselves forward to oppose the regime and attempt to prevent a two-tier age-dependent legal reality; a threat that Farage is happy to admit is real and ever-present

It’s troubling to think that this is the attitude of the man hailed as courageous and impressive in the wake of the recent election and suggested by the online right to be a cozy link to the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Whatever your politics — but especially if you found yourself charmed into a summer fling with Reform UK — Farage’s resignation to the powers that be in favor of his well-paid television commitments, could be pointing towards a rather grim reality: Nobody is coming to save you.

Perhaps I’m embittered by the last few years of Conservative efforts, or beaten down by the doomerism involved in following politics on X, but it is ironic to me that the UK’s self-identified disruptor is admitting that the game is rigged to the extent that is it less useful to fulfill your duty as an MP and better to express concern as a media personality. Farage’s lacklustre attitude may be expected by those who have long loathed his contributions to politics, from his time as an abrasive MEP to positioning himself as Mr Brexit without compromising his aims by working for the official Vote Leave campaign. But, for those who put pen to ballot paper for his party, it can disenchant and, more seriously, depress them. 

Earnestness is yearned for in politics. Liars, dwindlers, and shapeshifters appear at the heights of all parties involved in governing us. We watch in between our allotted opportunities to express our preferences, as those we backed either pursue the policies we consented to or more often, focus on whatever nonsense raises its head soon after polling day is done. 

It’s only nicotine, of course. We would all live healthier and longer lives without its influence. Indeed, if my future children ever stumble across this article, please do not take it as a sign that I want you to get puffing. On top of any health concerns, it is presumably illegal for you to do so, and as your hypothetical parent, I forbid you from breaking the law. However, principles matter more in 2024 than they have done for years. 

We face another vote this Friday, on the Assisted Dying Bill, which will see MPs exercise their judgment as both elected officials and moral beings. We have the threat of war spreading across Europe, and a push to reduce freedoms of expression in pursuit of seemingly impossible online safety. There is a growing effort to transform the art of living into the drudge of merely existing — to convert our society into a hypercontrolled anarchy, bound by nothing but the rules placed upon us. In this environment, when anyone puts their head above the fog and claims to stand for something — we are at the point where we are desperate to believe them. 

Attitudes like that which have been expressed by Farage misrepresent passivity as realism. A similar sentiment was suggested by Parliamentary Under-Secretary Jess Phillips when explaining her intent to support the Assisted Dying Bill even though she acknowledges that the NHS is not presently in a fit state to implement it. Although she went on to add her personal reasons for supporting the bill, Phillips described the motion as “inevitable” progress, implying that assisted suicide is a natural extension to our laws and, under this, a sign of unstoppable liberal progress in society. 

… personal freedom is a tumultuous battleground in the modern world

Whether you wish to end your life prematurely by consuming a pack of Marlboro Golds every few hours or are given a heartbreaking terminal diagnosis that prompts you to want to end your life before it forces you to suffer — personal freedom is a tumultuous battleground in the modern world. Its limits are debated regularly and are enforced by mere mortals, who have the right to reconstruct the possibilities open to us in our daily lives.

It would be preferable that positions of power be held by figures who act consistently on this matter — rather than prioritising more financially attractive platforms.