Nigel Farage’s party is building on the unpopularity of the government and is set to challenge it in next year’s polls

For many Labour and MPs and party officials, it was a nightmarish image that encapsulated the forces buffeting politics across the west.

A gleeful Nigel Farage standing next to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, having discussed the possibility of a political donation big enough to bankroll any British party, with cash to spare.