Nigel Farage on the Time Person of the Year shortlist
Former Ukip leader made the list alongside Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage has been shortlisted by Time magazine for their prestigious Person of the Year award after being credited with Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
The former Ukip leader made the shortlist which also includes Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Mark Zuckerberg and Beyoncé.
Announcing the 11-strong shortlist, the magazine said: “As head of the UK Independence Party, Farage was a face of the successful campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, positioning the referendum as the start of a global populist wave against the political establishment.”
The winner of the award will be announced on Wednesday.
The news magazine’s annual prize is awarded to people the editors believe have made the biggest impact on events throughout the year – regardless of whether they have been viewed as positive or not.
Previous nominees have included the leader of Isis, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in 2015 and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.
The Brexit vote is viewed as starting a wave of populist shocks around the world which culminated in the victory of former reality TV star Mr Trump in the US presidential election last month.
Speaking about the year of upsets, Mr Farage said 2016 would be looked back on as the year the “little people decided they would assert themselves and could actually beat the establishment”.
Despite the majority of economic experts, politicians and business leaders urging the public to vote Remain, the public voted 52-48 per cent in favour of leaving the EU leading to the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron.
Mr Farage has hinted he is not done with politics just yet – despite claiming he was resigning as Ukip leader to “get his life back” in July – by suggesting he could act as a UK ambassador to the Trump administration when it takes office in January.
He also vowed “to lead a 100,000-strong march” to the Supreme Court to demand the 11 judges overturn a High Court ruling which said the Government needs to get parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50 – but the eventual protest on Monday attracted fewer than 100 people.
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