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| One Party After Another by Michael Crick review – the devilish luck of Nigel Farage | by David Runciman Feb 2, 2022 | Personal chaos and political recklessness characterise the most influential failure in modern British politics Like those of all political upstarts, Nigel Farage’s career is marked by generous helpings of luck. His story is full of tantalising what ifs, and in this definitive biography Michael Crick makes the most of them. Farage has survived three near-death experiences: twice in his early 20s, when he suffered a life-threatening car crash and then, months later, a misdiagnosed case of testicular cancer; and once in 2010, when on election day the plane in which he was flying for a publicity stunt got its banner caught in its tail fin and crashed in a field. Each time, Farage thought he would die; each time, somehow, he didn’t. He also benefited hugely from one death that did happen. In the 1997 general election James Goldsmith’s Referendum party outpolled the nascent Ukip by 8:1 and looked set to swallow its smaller, underfunded, chaotic rival. But then Goldsmith suddenly announced he was pulling back from politics and died of cancer 10 weeks after election day. Ukip picked up Referendum’s momentum and Farage never looked back. Continue reading... | | | 'I wish I could': why it's hard for smaller artists to boycott Spotify | by Kyle Mullin Feb 2, 2022 | The feud between major artists and Spotify has overlooked problems faced by those with less power and finances The past week has seen artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash and Nils Lofgren stand up to Spotify, boycotting the streaming giant because of Covid-19 misinformation spread on its popular and exclusively available The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Their protest has been applauded by many, but indie rapper Open Mike Eagle tweeted a very different perspective. “I love Neil Young but i’m not following that crazy rich man anywhere,” he wrote before adding: “what’s the protest option for non set for life musicians?” Continue reading... | | | | |
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