Nigel Farage welcomes endorsement after the face of 1980s TV sports rewrote lyrics to Send in the Clowns

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Former television sports presenter Des Lynam has endorsed the UK Independence party, revealing that he voted for Nigel Farage's organisation in last week's local elections.

Ukip said that Lynam, the face of television sport during the 1980s, sent the party rewritten lyrics to Send in the Clowns, mocking Conservative critics who lambasted Ukip as a bunch of fruitcakes, loonies, waifs and strays.

In a press release put out by Ukip on Friday, Lynam is quoted as saying: "I was delighted to cast my vote for Nigel Farage's team in Sussex where I live. I feel they have something to offer the country as a whole, and Sussex."

Farage, whose party won 25%of the vote in seats it contested in last week's election, said: "I am delighted to welcome Des's support in these elections. And thank him for his rewrite of the lyrics of Send in the Clowns which we are planning to sing at our south-east conference on 8 June."

Ukip gained more than 130 seats in the English shire elections, a result that Farage claimed heralded the birth of a new and irreversible era of four-party politics in the UK.

After the election, David Cameron, who once described Ukip as fruitcakes and closet racists, admitted his mistake, saying it was no good insulting a party people had chosen to vote for: "We need to show respect for people who have taken the choice to support this party. And we're going to work really hard to win them back."

Send in the Clowns (Des Lynam Ukip remix 2013)



We used to be rich

Now we are not

But here at last there's a chance

To stop all the rot

Send in the Clowns.



Isn't it bliss

Don't you approve

They just kept tearing around

But they wouldn't move

We need the Clowns …

Send in the Clowns.



They'd never stopped

Opening our doors

Now you are learning

The vote that we wanted was yours



We'll make our entrance again

With unusual flair

Sure of our lines

We'll be right there



We've had the farce

Their fault I fear

We know that you want what we want

No need to fear

They call us the Clowns …

So send in the Clowns…

And give us a cheer



What a surprise

Who could have thought

You'd come to feel about things

We felt you ought



Only now they will see

You've drifted our way

No surprise now

It's no cliche



Now they have fear

They've lost their timing this late

In their careers…

And where are the clowns …

Quick, send in the clowns …

Don't bother we're here.

