In the latest in a series of milkshake assaults on British politicians, Nigel Farage, a leader of the Brexit movement to withdraw from the European Union, was doused with a milkshake on Monday while campaigning in Newcastle Upon Tyne for a seat in the European Parliament. Tim Bale, a Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, said that the milkshake protests were the continuation of a trend in British politics.
“We’ve got a long history of throwing things at politicians,” Bale said. “You can go back to the 1960s when the prime minister had eggs thrown at him and actually took it in pretty good heart. It’s not really perhaps the most serious threat that’s ever been leveled against a politician. I think it’s really a way of people who feel very strongly protesting as what they see against some very extremist politicians, getting a mention in the news by doing it without being at much risk of being condemned by the rest of the public. Although perhaps they shouldn’t, I think the British public will find this slightly amusing rather than a worrying trend.”
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