Nigel Farage ridiculed over his claim to be ‘skint’ The former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who earns around £90,000 a year as an MEP, has been ridiculed after claiming […]

The former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who earns around £90,000 a year as an MEP, has been ridiculed after claiming that he is “skint”.

Opponents pointed out that he will also receive a £73,000 annual pension after Brexit and lives in a townhouse in Chelsea, west London, said to be worth £4m.

Mr Farage protested poverty in an interview he which he described himself as “53, separated and skint”.

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The long-running campaigner against EU membership explained: “There’s no money in politics, particularly doing it the way I’ve done it – 20 years of spending more than you earn.”

‘No words’

Tom Watson, the deputy Labour leader, responded: “This man earns £90,000 a year as a part-time MEP, lives in a £4m townhouse and will collect a £73,000-a-year pension from the EU … the day Britain leaves. There are no words.”

The Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, joked that he felt “so sorry” for Mr Farage, saying that his pension entitlement was “not that badly really” considering his voting record at the European Parliament.

“Oh, and wasn’t the EU a gravy train? Surprised he doesn’t refuse his pension on principle,” Mr Brake added.

The Labour MP Heidi Alexander tweeted: “If the British people don’t see this utter hypocrisy for what it is, I will despair (from a member of the ‘metropolitan elite’ who didn’t attend Dulwich College & doesn’t live in a Chelsea Townhouse).”

US move could beckon

In his interview with the Daily Mail, Mr Farage disclosed that he has considered moving to the United States.

He said: “I can’t walk down the street in London on my own. The level of aggression and unpleasantness is constant. I’ll never be able to live a normal life in London.

‘I have thought about the States. Life is easier over there, but I am very English. I like going to watch cricket at Lord’s. I like my walks on the North Downs [near his home in Kent]. So, we’ll just have to see. It’s quite tough.”

The journalist Owen Jones ridiculed his comments as “a harrowing story of sacrifice rivalled only by the incarceration of Nelson Mandela”.