We can’t fight the far right with milkshakes. We can only deal them a defeat at the ballot box

The BNP was at its strongest when it was winning elections. That’s why we need a big turnout tomorrow to see off Nigel Farage and his cronies

This Thursday, people across the country will vote in the European parliament elections. Historically, the turnout at such elections is low compared to local and general elections. In fact last time they were held, only 35 per cent of eligible voters even bothered with them.

However, this year is different.

This is because we were never supposed to be having these elections. The UK was supposed to have “Brexited” by now. We were due to leave the EU on 29 March, nearly two months ago. My views on Brexit are well documented. As a strong advocate for a people’s vote, I’m happy we haven’t left without going back to the people to confirm they want to proceed with the deal on offer.

The elections are also strange as both the main political parties are committed to leaving the EU but have put little to no resources in campaigning in these elections. This has created a vacuum.

Enter Nigel Farage and his latest venture, the Brexit Party. The serial loser who has stood for parliament on seven occasions and has lost each time. A man who has long campaigned against the EU but is happy to take a yearly salary as a member of the European parliament for the last 20 years. It will be of little surprise to hear its MEP candidates hold sympathies for the far right. One such candidate, John Tennant, has previously heaped praise on a colleague for using a Nazi slogan in the European parliament. It beggars belief.

It is not just Farage and his latest thirst for attention we are dealing with. Challenging his party in what could be seen as a bid to be more offensive and more extreme is Ukip, a party Farage quit for being... wait for it, too extreme. Yep, it is also on the march. Worryingly, its lurch to the right has gone even further. Not only has it recruited Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the EDL, as an adviser, but he is also running separately as a candidate to become an MEP for the North West.

If that wasn’t bad enough, enter Carl Benjamin, a notorious figure from the online world of the alt-right. Benjamin is well known for making rape threats to Jess Phillips, a well-respected Birmingham Labour MP, and footage has emerged of him using racist and discriminatory language against ethnic minorities, the LGBT+ community and people with disabilities.

The increasing tide of far-right politicians running for elected office should worry us all. To think these parties, with documented racism, should represent the diverse population of the UK on an international stage does not bear thinking about. But it is a distinct possibility. Consistent polling shows the Brexit Party is set for victory, polling above nearly all other political parties.

It is weaponising Brexit to further its agenda and trying to stoke up anger and hatred. Three-quarters of Britons surveyed recently said the UK is divided. This is what the likes of the Brexit Party, Ukip and others are counting on: exploiting those divisions for political gain.

I appreciate the work journalists have been doing to hold them to account by asking these individuals about their previous abhorrent statements and views. However, the harsh reality is this: those who sympathise and support them either agree with the sentiments they hold, or they don’t view them as deterrent enough to not support them and their parties.

Dousing them in milkshakes – or any other kind of soft drink – won’t cut it either.

This is why they need to be rejected at the ballot box. That is how we tackle the immediate threat the far right pose. Without occupying positions of power, their power diminishes. The BNP was at its strongest when it had a number of local councillors, a seat on the London Assembly and even two MEPs. Now it is a distant memory, consigned to the dustbin of history.

We beat the far right once before at the ballot box – we must do so again.

Please vote on Thursday. If we don’t, the winners will be the champions of the far right and we will all have lost a part of our humanity.