Nigel Farage is a ‘good campaigner and disrupter’ but the decision to trigger a by-election in Clacton is further evidence that he’s simply ‘not a politician’, Sarah Vine has argued.

Debating fellow Daily Mail columnist Peter Hitchens, Vine said Farage has repeatedly shown himself unable to handle ‘any kind of scrutiny’ which inevitably comes with the territory of seeking high office.

She also accused the Reform UK leader of appearing genuinely uninterested in the workings of Parliament and struggling as an orator.

Last week, Farage stood down from his Clacton seat amid a growing row over his finances. The Guardian revealed in April that he had received a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne just weeks before he was elected as an MP.

Nigel Farage is a ‘good campaigner and disrupter’ but the decision to trigger a by-election in Clacton is further evidence that he’s simply ‘not a politician’, Sarah Vine has argued

Vine said Farage has repeatedly shown himself unable to handle ‘any kind of scrutiny’ which inevitably comes with the territory of seeking high office

The money did not appear on his register of interests and Parliament’s standards commissioner is investigating a potential failure to declare it. Farage denies any wrongdoing and says the money was a personal, unconditional gift received before he entered Parliament.

‘Farage is a very good antagonist, a catalyst – what he’s not very good at is being a politician’, Vine began.

‘Over the last 18 months, he has been required to be a politician and he’s not good at it. He’s really not.

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‘He doesn’t turn up to Parliament, he doesn’t like it. He can’t stand up to any kind of scrutiny. In politics, there is a lot of scrutiny and you have to be ready for it.

‘He’s a campaigner, not a politician… he’s not a good orator, he doesn’t speak well.’

Hitchens, despite admitting he ‘doesn’t approve of Farage’, said the Reform leader deserves a degree of sympathy due to his resilience as a political force and harsh treatment by the media.

In his speech triggering the by-election, Farage said he had ‘never been angrier’ with the media in his life, referencing a Sky News approach to his daughter’s home as the ‘final straw’. The broadcaster denies contacting his family.

‘I think Farage deserves a lot of sympathy and some admiration for his sticking power’, the columnist told the Alas Vine & Hitchens podcast.

‘There was a horrible event a few years ago, when Farage had testicular cancer. I mention that particularly as one newspaper actually sent a reporter. The Editor rang up the reporter while he was interviewing and said: “Which testicle is it?” Awful.

‘This was inflicted on him and they thought: ‘Ha ha!’ I don’t think they’ve ever apologised.’

Hitchens, despite admitting he ‘doesn’t approve of Farage’, said the Reform leader deserves a degree of sympathy due to his resilience as a political force and harsh treatment by the media 

Hitchens also defended Farage over reports he owns five houses, saying: ‘You can’t blame a man for having a property portfolio.’

However, he said the Reform leader made a ‘serious mistake’ in calling the by-election rather than waiting for one to be forced on him, suggesting Farage must ‘deeply regret’ taking the £5 million in the first place.

‘I am not sure he can survive it’, the author said.

‘People in my experience do not like being compelled to go out and have by-elections… they get annoyed.

‘Nigel Farage has never got 50% of the vote in Clacton-on-Sea and if the establishment were to rally behind Count Binface… it’s not impossible it could be the most embarrassing disaster.’

Listen to the full debate on Farage’s resignation by searching for Alas Vine & Hitchens wherever you get your podcasts.