Like him or loathe him, you CAN’T ignore Nigel Farage – his dive into this General Election will give Rishi cold sweats

LIKE him or loathe him - you just can’t ignore Nigel Farage.

For a man who has never won a UK parliamentary election, his impact on British politics over the past decade cannot be understated.

He arguably has the biggest personal claim to the historic 2016 Brexit vote, having bounced David Cameron into calling the referendum to neutralise the UKIP threat.

And his decision to stand down his Brexit Party troops in Tory seats at the last election helped propel Boris Johnson to victory.

Though regularly portrayed by his enemies as a fringe eccentric - or worse - what Farage says and does has serious ramifications.

And so the prospect of him diving headfirst into the general election campaign as Reform leader will have Rishi Sunak in cold sweats.

He is possibly one of the best orators of our political age, and can effectively punch Tory bruises on immigration and taxes.

Yet Farage’s challenge will be to do what outgoing boss Richard Tice struggled to - make the party into a credible election force.

Easier said than done in our brutal first past the post election system, as Farage has previously discovered in his seven failed tilts at office.

UKIP’s performance in its heyday 2015 election? Three million votes - but just one seat.

Can this estranged ex-Tory finally deliver some MPs on election night - or will he only serve to eat into the Conservative vote.

The Farage factor already appeared to be showing results, with Betfair now putting him odds-on to win in Clacton.

And Reform insiders are hopeful that so-far stuttering donations will now come flooding in.

Is he in the business of doing deals with the Tories? Absolutely not. Why? Because he thinks the they are finished, and that is what he wants.

This is not the Nigel Farage of old, who wants to give the Tories a bloody nose, or force them into taking a certain position.

This time it is about total, unencumbered annihilation. He wants to flatten them.

Speaking to the Sun after taking over as leader he declared himself readers’ best bet on July 4.

With a glass of wine in hand and his trademark cheshire cat grin, he said: “There is no Conservative Party. It doesn’t exist - they’ve lost already.”

He couldn’t care less if his old party goes to hell in a handcart - as long as he’s in the centre of things.