The current crop of politicians are constantly telling us they don’t have to be doing this. Aren’t we lucky? Sorry to call it early, but the worst trend of 2026 is politicians who are graciously doing us all a favour. “He doesn’t need to be here,” declared Nigel Farage yesterday of Reform UK’s newest sloppy second, Nadhim Zahawi. “He could have gone abroad.” Ooh, aren’t we lucky! Thanks for stopping by, Nadhim! If you missed this, the former mayfly Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has switched gravy trains . If that sounds like the sort of death-defying stunt Tom Cruise might break his ankle doing in the Mission Impossible franchise, it’s nothing like as exhilaratingly watchable. The Tory gravy train has ground to a halt, and Farage will stop his Reform train even between stations to pick up any old has-been you may remember from episodes like “deathbed Boris Johnson appointments ” or “ my horses are warmer than pensioners”. (More on that latter one shortly.) Needless to say, Farage is doing his best to explain that these guys aren’t secondhand, they’re pre-loved. They’re vintage, they’re appealingly worn in, they’re heritage pieces. They may even have increased in value – they’re basically political Birkin bags. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...