Nigel Farage is a menace – but I wouldn’t throw a milkshake at him

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A few years ago, back in the halcyon days of the Cameron/Osborne double act of everyday cruelty and incompetence, some bright spark set up a “slap George Osborne” webpage, where you could – surprise, surprise – slap an image of Osborne’s face to your heart’s content, complete with a comedic slap sound for good measure. I’m admitting all of this because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I don’t have sympathy with the Newcastle man, Paul Crowther, who threw his Five Guys milkshake all over Nigel Farage yesterday. It’s possible to combat their arguments, surely, without assaulting their person – even in a comedy “custard pie” sort of way. I’d far rather see Farage unemployed and ignored by every media outlet currently so keen to provide him with a platform.