Thread by @lewis_goodall

Pretty warm reception for Farage in Pontefract this morning. Running theme, volunteered by many: “we’ve been humiliated.” Shouts of: “come on nige!”

Also remains as divisive as ever in some quarters: one man shouts “youre a conman!” One woman mutters “a truly horrible man.”

Farage response to conman jibe: “you’ve obviously started early this morning.”

Around 150 people on a Monday morning turn up for a rally in Featherstone Working Men’s Club. Another one this evening in Huddersfield.

You know you’re in Yorkshire when you see pints at 1030...

Not for me I might add

I thought it was busy before. Then this happened.

Then this.

. @TiceRichard asks who is a registered supporter (paying £25 a piece). Virtually every person’s hand goes up. One lady says “I’m waiting for my pension to come in.”

John Longworth, straight out of the blocks: “This is about democracy and how we are governed, not even about Brexit any more.” This is by far the party’s strongest card. For democracy, read Brexit and it’s a message which is sinking in.

Andrew Allison (Brexit Party Yorkshire candidate): “we’ve just had a fantastic walkabout in Pontefract this morning. We’ve parked our tanks on Yvette Cooper’s lawn.” Huge cheers.

WW2 alert. Andrew Allison: “the EU want Britain to be a colony of the EU- a colony! Well I’ve got news for them- the British people will never surrender.”

Waiting in the wings.

I think they think the answer is no.

Tbf Widdecombe learnt a lot in panto.

Just remember- this is Ann Widdecombe, a former Tory minister, being hailed and cheered to the rafters in a West Yorkshire working men’s club. The slow realignment is speeding up.

Mentions of @YvetteCooperMP’s name. A few shouts of “traitor! Traitor!”

Phrases constantly repeated:

-no deal is better than a bad deal.

-Brexit means Brexit

The prime minister never knew the power of her words. When they were employed they were a short term political fix for her. For us they will haunt British politics for years to come.

Farage takes to the stage.

Farage: “this is now a north London Labour Party. I’ll be damned if I’ve worked for 25 years for this to give up now.”

Farage: “This is about more than Brexit. It’s about the thread which connects Parliament and the rest of us. It’s about a two party system which works only for itself. We are going to fight past may 23rd to make this a better nation.” He’s cloaking himself in the change mantle.

Lots of talk of @YvetteCooperMP from the stage here (Farage says there isn’t an MP who has tried to block Brexit more) and we did start the day in her constituency. In fact though this club is in the Hemsworth constituency of @jon_trickett.

Talk to one couple who describes Yvette Cooper as a traitor. I push back and say that’s unfair: “no it’s not because she’s betraying constituents.”

Me: “but isn’t her job to use her judgement in her constituents’ interests?”

Them: “no. It’s to do what her constituents want.”

The referendum continues to play havoc with our understanding of our own democracy.

Talk to the two bar staff, the only people who haven’t chosen to be there. One normally votes Labour but after what she’s heard “I’ve been swayed.” The other never votes at all but “I will now for the first time.” The latter had texts of support from all her family for Farage.

One man, a former Labour councillor, just told me he hoped the Brexit Party would be “our salvation.” This is the strength of feeling at work here.