Where was the Nigel Farage fizz? UKIP speech analysis

Three years ago, just two lonely journalists turned up to the UKIP annual conference. This year, they have accredited 150 of them. Now Britain’s third-largest party (it has led the LibDems in the polls since March) Nigel Farage positions himself as an insurgent whose message is so incendiary that the mainstream would not dare to broadcast it. Today was his chance. The UKIP conference is getting plenty coverage on BBC Parliament Channel, a huge chance. And one that was not really taken.

We’re used to seeing Farage with a pint and fag in hand, looking mischievous and raising hell. Today he looked fretful and sweaty. He didn’t use autocues –  which is fine, neither does David Cameron when things get sticky. But Farage kept looking at his notes, and for most of the speech his eyes were down (above). When you’re giving a speech for a television audience, this kind of thing matters. Powder is