An own goal or back-of-the-net? The pundit class are divided on Reform’s latest stunt, with Nigel Farage rocking up to Portman Road to snap pictures waving an Ipswich Town shirt. But while some are describing it as ‘PR suicide’, within Milbank Tower there is delight at the ‘cut-through’ of the Clacton MP’s latest photo opportunity. One senior source told Mr S that the mood among Reform HQ’s digital team was one of ‘a job well done’. So much for The Blues, eh?
Content related to ‘Ipswich-gate’ was seen nearly 15 million times in the first 72 hours across Farage and Reform’s platforms. The core digital team – among whom there are a few twenty-somethings ‘Barclaysmen’ – have tapped into the ‘banter’ of football Twitter to create what one calls a ‘popcorn-worthy shitstorm’. Steerpike has been amused to see how various supporters of the other 91 Football League clubs have reacted to the online storm. Some have used it to hammer Ipswich while others have saluted Farage’s opportunistic embrace of ‘The Tractor Boys’.
The polls might be shifting but Farage can boast that he still has more social media followers than Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Zack Polanski and Ed Davey all put together across X, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. As The Spectator has previously reported, the party expects these numbers will grow further and be key at the time of the next election. Let’s see who is doing better by then: Reform or the long-suffering fanbase of Ipswich Town F.C…
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