The clues were already there: yesterday evening, Matt Schlapp told his followers “Join us today, 3:30pm EST for [CPAC] LIVE with special guests [Nigel Farage] and [Charlie Kirk] you won’t want to miss it!” Nigel Farage? Mr Thirsty would have to hurry home from presenting his LBC show; after all, he would only have 90 minutes between appearances.
But I suspect the Brexit Party Oberscheissenführer already knew that this would not pose a problem, because he wasn’t going to be there are LBC, where the evening schedule has been hurriedly rearranged to have Iain Dale come in an hour earlier. There won’t be a Nigel Farage show this evening. Because he and LBC have parted company.
In a terse and rather procedural Tweet, the station told its listeners “Nigel Farage’s contract with LBC is up very shortly and, following discussions with him, Nigel is stepping down from LBC with immediate effect. We thank Nigel for the enormous contribution he has made to LBC and wish him well”. That means he’s been sacked.
We can be sure of this because the Farage Twitter feed has thus far remained silent on the matter. So there will be no more inappropriate use of the LBC studios and branding, no more having to have his show fact checked and called out for yet more whoppers. The reaction to his departure was, generally, one of barely concealed elation.
The seeds had been sown earlier in the week when Stan Collymore had asked “Hi [Mercedes Benz UK] As a sponsor of Nigel Farage's [LBC] show, do you stand with his race war comments? Interested to see whether a brand that many BME footballers, musicians and artists buy stand shoulder to shoulder with Farage's comments? Silence isn't an option”. That thought may have had some influence, as Jim Waterson noted.
“Had been the focus of anger within Global Media at the company promoting BLM messages while continuing to employ him”. Nadine White at the HuffPost added “Nigel Farage steps down from LBC radio show 'effective immediately'. This news comes after we approached Global Media questioning the organisation's decision to give him a platform in light of his racist comments”. And so began the arguments.
Hasan Patel concluded “LBC radio have not renewed their contract with Nigel Farage. People are claiming it’s against ‘freedom of speech.’ No, he’s just no longer going to be paid to spew racist bile on the radio”. Correct. See also under Katie Hopkins.
And while the Bruges Group brought a little unintentional hilarity to the discussion with “At a time when diversity of opinion is sorely lacking in great swathes of the British Media, it is a real shame to read that Nigel Farage will no longer be presenting a radio show on LBC”, they were in a small minority. Nick Tolhurst countered with “Nigel Farage is quitting [LBC] to spend more time with his newly acquired 19th century statue collection”.
The Tweeter known as Katy mused “Image being so despicable that [LBC] sacks you”. Yep, just like Hatey Katie. And Miffy Buckley declared “Good riddance. I will take great pleasure watchinh this faded fascist failure as he’s flushed unceremoniously down the toilet of mediocrity into the sewers of oblivion”. Cruel. Cruel but fair.
Where next for Nige? TalkRADIO? Maybe RT. Who knows? And, indeed, who cares?
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Doesn't surprise me, after I heard him use that old antisemitic canard on his show this week.
ReplyDeleteWhatever motivated LBC to give a platform to the frog-faced fascist in the first place is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteBut he led us out of the EU, some failure! Ha! Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteNow here's a list of his critics achievements:
That's it!
Hey, Anonymous, you really think that's an achievement? Even then him and his co-conspirators couldn't have done it without illegal payments and a racist campaign.
ReplyDeleteYes, anon @ 17:19,, making Britain the laughing stock of the world is a big achievement!
ReplyDelete@17:19
ReplyDeleteThat 'achievement' will put him in the history books, but there won't be anything positive written.
For the Bruges Group, there's always the Dark Web.
Hopefully pressure also brought to bear by TfL as Global has a very lucrative contract to provide advertising across the TfL estate
ReplyDeleteIn the words of E.L.Whisty, maybe we could arrange to "...throw him in a large bowl of custard."
ReplyDeletePreferably of the lumpy powder type that's impossibly sticky when badly mixed.
A literal one trick pony.....
ReplyDeleteShark infested custard!
ReplyDeletePlenty of other media outlets that still give the pint sized,toxic idiot a platform.
ReplyDeleteNamely the BBC.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer fella
ReplyDeleteBrilliant piss-take on Twitter.
ReplyDelete"At least he can pick fruit now"
"For the UPIK party".
This country.
No sharks required if the vat of Custard's at a good rolling boil!
ReplyDelete17:19
ReplyDeleteI'm one of his critics. I've achieved more in my life than you ever have in your pitiful, weak, putrid little life.
Also, vastly more than Farage ever has in his worthless little life.