Nigel Farage crashed to earth at the last general election. Literally. The light aeroplane in which he was travelling was forced to make an emergency landing after the Ukip banner it was flying became entangled in the tail fin. Mr Farage also failed to come close to unseating John Bercow. Despite a high-profile campaign the Speaker was re-elected with a comfortable majority. Mr Farage spent election day in hospital, recovering from injuries that still cause him serious discomfort to this day.
Ukip’s leader has travelled a long way since then. It is not impossible that his party’s MPs could hold the balance of power after the next election. Ukip could oust Tory MPs in Kent, Essex and Norfolk while defeating Labour MPs in Devon, the