Last week, walking along London's Piccadilly, I saw the distinctive figure of UKIP's Nigel Farage coming towards me. Farage is standing against the loathsome John Bercow in Buckinghamshire at the election, so as we passed each other I called out a bright 'Good Luck'! 'Thank You!' he shot back with a smile. I wonder if he had any idea then what was coming his way that weekend: an appalling character assasination masquarading as a 'profile' by Camilla Long in The Sunday Times.

Occasionally articles take your breath away, and this was one such - a new low surely in broadsheet journalism. There's too much to quote here, so read it and judge for yourself. It's hard to see it as anything other than hateful. I'm sure Farage has a thick skin and can take it. But underlying the whole piece is a dripping contempt for those who might be thinking that UKIP has a point and might be considering voting for them. A fear, in other words, that the always fragile support for the new conservative establishment might be finally draining away.