by Samuel Dale
Today Nigel Farage may spend his time glad-handing the US president-elect and partying at the Ritz but it was not always this way.
As he stands down as Ukip leader yet again, it is worth remembering just how far he has come and the impact of his perseverance.
For two decades, Farage has travelled up and down Britain talking to voters, persuading them, standing for office, winning campaigns and losing elections.
He stood up for what he believes is right for the country and tried his best to implement it through democratic and generally respectable means.
It wasn’t always glamorous and it didn’t always feel like he was going to be successful.
I don’t understand why he is mocked for losing so many by-elections. It takes guts for anyone to put themselves on the line and stand for election whether it is Farage, Donald Trump or Ed Miliband.
Ukip has been an incredibly successful political movement. It has shifted debate in Britain significantly whether George Osborne shovelling cash to pensioners before the last election, a harsher immigration policy or leaving the EU.