Nigel Farage did in fact post a picture of himself ‘enjoying’ England’s World Cup win in the pub — but critics quickly pointed out that the photo was from 2024, not from the 2026 Croatia match.
Farage shared a photograph on X after England’s 4–2 win over Croatia, wearing an England shirt and holding a pint. But journalists and social media users noticed it was the same pub, same shirt, same flags, same people as a picture he posted during Euro 2024, when England played Denmark.
Multiple outlets confirmed the picture was indeed from June 2024 at the Armfield Club in Blackpool.
A Reform UK spokesperson later admitted the picture was old, saying Farage had been campaigning all day and watched the match “nearby” — but the photo he posted was not from that night.
However, Farage’s brand is built on being “a man of the people” in pubs with pints. Reusing an old picture undermined that image, and critics accused him of pretending to be watching the match live.
He posted the picture while campaigning in Makerfield, making the stunt look like an attempt to connect with football fans.
Social media responses ranged from ridicule (“same pub, same clothes, same people”) to accusations of deception.
This blew up because Farage’s political persona relies heavily on pub culture, football, and authenticity. When that image cracks, critics jump on it — particularly during an election period where trust is already a significant problem.
Whether it’s old or not, Starmer wouldn’t be seen dead in an England shirt, because Starmer has never leaned into the whole “England shirt, pint in hand” performance — and that’s precisely why Farage’s recycled photo blew up. It struck at the heart of the persona he tries to project, whereas Starmer just doesn’t play that game.
Farage only does it for image. Completely misleading. Far worse —
because with Farage, it isn’t just an innocuous old photo. It cuts right into the heart of the persona he’s been selling for years, and this incident won’t magically peel Reform voters away. People aren’t choosing Reform because of a pub photo — they’re choosing Reform because they’re furious with the Conservatives and feel politically lost, and stock photos are used constantly, some of them years old, some are reused dozens of times, and that’s normal, expected, and nobody bats an eyelid.
However, this wasn’t stock footage published by a newspaper. It was Farage’s own personal feed, and that’s why this one anchored differently, and this is an awkward little gotcha, not a political earthquake, and the fact that his team immediately admitted it was an old photo takes most of the sting out of it. Plus, he never explicitly claimed it was a new photo, but he presented it as if it were from that night, which is why people called it dishonest.
The whole “Farage the working‑class hero” thing has always been a performance, and moments like this just expose the seams, and this particular slip‑up isn’t going to derail anything for him.
Oh, and he’s undoubtedly slippery — that’s the perfect word for him. Not illegal, not catastrophic, not even shocking at this point… just slippery, and that’s why this little photo saga landed the way it did. It wasn’t about the picture itself — it was about how neatly it fits into the long‑running pattern people already associate with him.
It was disgusting manipulation from Farage, because that’s precisely what it was: not an explicit lie, but a constructed impression designed to make people believe he was in the pub that night. And that’s the kind of behaviour that sticks to Farage because it fits a long‑running pattern.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 