There is a file I keep for blog ideas. At present it’s swollen like an appendix fit to burst, but mostly that’s down to Nigel Farage.

Many of the bits and pieces put into the ‘blog stuff’ folder are examples on social media of what seems to be growing agitation with the BBC for giving undue prominence to Reform UK. This has only grown after Farage was granted yet another audience with Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday programme last weekend.

Let’s have an investigatory prod at that aching appendix to see what pops out.

Oh look, here is Farage fuming that anger in the UK is the worst it’s been for 60 years. Small boats are to blame – of course they are. Farage would be quieter than a Trappist monk in a library if he didn’t have disadvantaged migrants to complain about.

Every time he or anyone else jabs a mean finger at migrants, just remember that deeply disadvantaged people in small boats don’t cause all your problems. I’d worry more about the ones in big boats who hoard wealth to themselves and resent paying their fair share of taxes.

Migrants fleeing here on inflatable dinghies have surmounted problems a privileged moneyed man like Farage has never encountered – and anyway they constitute a tiny fraction of immigration to this country.

Sadly, Farage has been horribly efficient at tricking people into believing what he says. Just remember it’s always about the moan; just remember he’s a shoddy peddler of grievance politics.

After his Sunday outing, Farage was back on the BBC the following day with a televised press conference about crime, almost as if there was an election round the corner, which there isn’t. Britain faces societal collapse, he spouted. Not true, but Farage just tramples the truth to create the impression that this is so.

He’s like an arsonist who sets a blaze, runs around shouting that he warned everyone there would be an inflagration, then seeks praise for phoning the fire brigade.

Let’s take another tentative prod. What emerges this time is Caroline Lucas, the former Green MP, saying sensibly: “Farage should never be interviewed without being forced to answer for the failures of Brexit.”

Quite right – but good luck with that. No one ever asks him about Brexit on the BBC, preferring to let him spout off on his chosen topics.

As you will have noticed, much of Farage’s shtick is to suggest that we are not being told the truth about something, even after he’s just been presented with the evidence. Crime is rising dramatically, he says, only to grumble about the reliability of crime statistics if anyone points out this isn’t true.

Let’s prod another infected spot.

Ah, yes, here is Farage claiming on social media that Essex Police bussed counter-demonstrators to a far-right protest earlier this week outside a migrant hotel in Epping. The chief constable should resign Farage blabbered.

He showed footage of what had “happened”, only for Essex police to say he was “categorically wrong”. Some of the counter-demonstrators were instead “escorted by vehicle away from the area for their safety”.

What a typical Farage move – being inflammatory before the truth.

He later issued a sort of apology to Essex Live, containing this slippery line: “I was slightly out on accuracy, I apologise, but I think the gist of what I was saying was right.”

After that press conference, the right-wing papers were happy to be Farage’s echo chamber. “Police not ready for summer of unrest” wailed the Telegraph. The Mail went for a splash about asylum seekers “gambling away taxpayer cash”. They were, in fact, using some of their meagre allowance to gamble, and in a sense you can understand why, foolish hope perhaps being their last resort.

Here’s a confession: I gamble away a small portion of my pension on doing the lottery, but don’t tell the Daily Mail.

Oh well, right-wing papers do what right-wing papers do. I am more concerned about the BBC giving Farage endless free publicity without ever asking tough questions.

Another prod, yet more septic politics. This time on climate denial. Reform UK is reportedly funded in part by big oil, hence its hatred of anything to do with climate change. Deputy leader Richard Tice wrote an alarming, if absurd, threatening  letter to energy firms warning them against bidding to provide clean power provision as Reform would do away with all that.

Never mind that the clean energy industry has seen a growth of 10% and now supports nearly a million people in well-paid jobs in the UK, according to the CBI.

Almost there now, although this file sure is bursting. Another prod finds Farage moaning about the government’s plans to give 16-year-olds the vote, saying it’s an attempt to rig the system.

Ah, yes – 16-year-olds are too young to vote but it’s perfectly OK to have a 19-year-old Reform councillor as leader of Warwickshire County Council. A little hypocrisy goes a long way.

A final dip into the infected file brings up something heartening at last. On Threads you will find an excellent account called Reform Are Not Your Friends. This has endless examples of how you really don’t want to end up with a Reform government.

I rather liked this one…

Reform really need to do better with their attack bot accounts… 😬

😂 They’re almost always called “Derek”, “Brian” or “Graham”.

😂 They typically have 0-4 followers.

😂 They’ve never posted anything other than rant responses to us and others.

😂 They don’t respond to any facts.

If you’re on Threads, given them a follow.

And to conclude, if you want a climate denying, gun toting far-right grifter who uses politics to enrich himself – he has nine jobs now, apparently – who says he will his install multi-millionaire mates as Cabinet ministers, and is basically a Trump tribute act, go on and vote for Reform.

Just remember they’re not your friends.

Footnote: Sarah Pochin, the Reform MP for Runcorn, filmed herself for her YouTube channel saying that Greenway Road in her constituency was riddled with crime and social unrest because of illegal immigrants. BBC North West Tonight interviewed locals on the street who said that’s not true and it’s a lovely place to live.