Nigel Farage's big moment fell flat - he may be wishing Binface won after all

Nigel Farage would expect to be enjoying a bounce right now. A few days ago he was strutting around Reform's annual conference surrounded by an adoring party faithful. The Birmingham shindig should have been a chance to show off his team at its best. But unfortunately for him, the last few days have been handled with the grace and dignity of a pack of crazed hyenas feasting on a landfill site. Behind the scenes, we're told, factions are scrapping among themselves as questions mount about Mr Farage's leadership skills. It will all be familiar territory for defectors Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, who had a front row seat as the Tories tore themselves apart a while back. Making life more tricky for Mr Farage, he now has to navigate this den of angry badgers without two of his most trusted lieutenants. Dan Jukes and James Orr were both suspended after Channel 4 aired an undercover sting appearing to show senior Reform figures plotting to get around laws on foreign donations. Mr Farage was himself featured in the clips, declaring: "It worked. Boom.” He later insisted he wasn't listening as he feasted on champagne and oysters. The Reform chief has always prided himself on his ability to split opinion. But even he might be surprised to have sparked a scrap between current and former members of Boney M over whether the disco legends should have performed at last week's conference. There are bad vibes everywhere he looks. Yet another headache landed overnight when Tim Montgomerie, one of Reform's most visible supporters, walked away. He's levelled a lot of criticism at Zia Yusuf, Reform's self-proclaimed 'Shadow Home Secretary' - a title he's given himself despite not being an MP. You could forgive Mr Farage for wishing Count Binface had won his Clacton by-election farce after all. The glitzy three day conference in Birmingham had a strong 'World Cup third place play-off' feel to it, with many perhaps wondering if the chance for glory had already slipped away. Shocking footage showing supporters of the 'party of free speech' attacking protesters during Mr Farage's speech - and Mr Jenrick's subsequent comments - did not help. An image of a man brandishing a metal crutch as a terrified female demonstrator was led away has become the defining image of the event. Reform was already facing a slide in the polls. All the self-inflicted drama made it harder to land Reform's key red meat messages - including making schoolkids regularly sing the national anthem. One of the big issues he needs to grip if he's going to give even a semblance of competence is how to deal with Mr Yusuf, who has been particularly punchy of late. Fresh from a row about calling a former Defence Secretary a 'traitor', last week he singled out a Somalia-born council leader tipped to stand for Labour as an MP. It led to Piers Morgan - not exactly a member of the wokerati - branding him a "racist clown". Mr Montgomerie suggested Mr Yusuf is on leadership maneuvers and blasted Mr Farage for failing to deal with him. And let's not forget there's the small matter of a Parliamentary probe into the £5million 'gift' he received. And a Met Police investigation into donations to his party. And questions about alleged undeclared donations from ally 'Posh George' Cottrell. That's before we get onto last week's sting, which could turn into another long-running headache. Does Mr Farage really have the appetite for that? At the weekend he revealed his family had begged him to quit and even opened the door to his own departure, saying: "If these thousands of people out there would prefer Zia or someone else to me. Do you know what I'd recognise that." As things threaten to crumble around him, Mr Farage will have to decide whether his head is really in the game.