It was, like the glass of House of Commons claret he held in his hand while he spoke, a vintage Farage performance.
All that was missing – for a couple of hours – was the cigarette in his other hand.
Political journalists from the posh broadsheets to the red tops, from radio and TV to the nerdy websites, had assembled in parliament for an audience with Nigel.
And the Reform UK leader was on his top vaudeville form. Since becoming an MP at the eighth attempt, there is surely no more witty raconteur in Westminster.
Tory MPs, for example, were dismissed as “a boring bunch of stuck-up old bastards”, before he added with relish: “And that’s on the record!”
‘Woke curse’ has afflicted Britain
On his own lifestyle, he said he had been accused of being a chain smoker, a drunk, and a womaniser, before declaring, with brilliant comic timing: “It’s all true.”
Asked why more men than women support Reform, he declared with his trademark toothy grin: “I’ve spent my entire life trying to appeal to women.
“I’ve had the odd success here and there. I’m very pro-women.”
There was potential danger for Farage when he was asked why he thought more white men were in senior positions in the world of work before the introduction of equality policies.
He replied: “Because the country was white men, the country in business was white men, because the world was very different. Men went to work. Women stayed at home and brought up kids.”
He did acknowledge, however, that the world has evolved and changed since then.
But on bans on chanting and a two-pint limit for England fans at the Euros last year, he lamented: “I mean, there’s no point going really.”
And on his hard-fought victory in his “de-banking” dispute with NatWest, he blamed the “woke curse” that he claims has afflicted corporate America and corporate Britain.
‘My mission is to build a national party’
The occasion was a lunch of black treacle-cured salmon and baked supreme of chicken with beetroot and dill dressing in parliament’s elegant Churchill Room
Turning to politics, speaking just before it was confirmed the Runcorn and Helsby by-election would be held on 1 May, he denied it was a must-win for his party.
“It’s a must-win by-election for Labour,” he said. “It’s their 16th safest seat. People ask me, are you going to win? I don’t know.”
He said that since the general election last year, his whole focus has been on 1 May, when Reform hopes to make major gains in local elections.
“My mission is to build a national political party,” he said. “This is my last day in London until 2 May.”
Farage predicts Reform government in 2029
To be fair, no-one in his audience sniggered when he said it, but his political opponents would claim he doesn’t spend much time in parliament – or his Clacton constituency – currently.
On his feud with ousted Reform MP Rupert Lowe, Farage claimed that when he visited Doncaster earlier this week no-one had heard of the Great Yarmouth MP.
And on the next general election, Farage predicted gains for the Green Party, SNP and “pro-Gaza” candidates at Labour’s expense, while the Tories were “done”, he claimed.
Despite his eight attempts to become an MP, Farage said: “Parliament itself is deeply frustrating.”
But he boasted: “That will all change.”
In 2029, there would be a new government and Reform UK would have a majority in the House of Commons, he claimed.
And for once during his highly entertaining parliamentary vaudeville performance, nobody laughed.