Nigel #Farage was privately more than happy with his far-right party’s haul of four MPs, according to his friend and Finnish alter ego, Timo #Soini, who led Finland’s own version of Reform UK into government in 2015.
Soini, a Eurosceptic maverick who roughshod over the consensus that had long characterised Finnish politics and became foreign minister, is now retired, but made the journey to Clacton to witness his friend finally becoming an MP at the eight attempt.
“We discussed it this morning and agreed that it was better to have a trusted group of people around you rather than lots of bad apples,” Soini told the Guardian as he prepared to catch a train from Clacton.
Soini laughed in agreement at the suggestion that his own party
– which started off with this one MP and later grew rapidly
– with had set a blue print for Reform.
The Finnish populist leader was not the only international watcher from the hard right who had come to Clacton’s leisure centre last night.

Others included Ezra #Levant, a Canadian broadcaster and political activist who is close to the British far right political activist Tommy #Robinson.

US supporters of Donald Trump were also present, including Raheem #Kassam, a former aide to Farage who has reinvented himself in the US as a media personality and Trump-supporting podcaster.