Latest news with #PatrickO'Flynn
Spectator
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Patrick O'Flynn helped make Brexit possible
Yesterday, the world dimmed a little. Patrick O'Flynn, a man who was both a titan of the Brexit cause and a cherished friend, died. The news hit like a sledgehammer, and as I sit here, with a cup of tea, trying to make sense of it, memories flood. Paddy wasn't just a figure in the political and journalistic firmament, though of course he was that; he was a force, a believer, a strategist, and, above all, a decent human being. His death leaves a void that no amount of words can fill, but I'll try to do a little justice to the man whose efforts in no small way changed the course of history. It was 2005, the dark days before Brexit was even a whisper in the mainstream. Back then, the idea of Britain regaining her sovereignty was a pipe dream, the kind of niche obsession discussed in hushed tones by consenting adults far from the prying eyes of the establishment.
Sky News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Party leaders' shock at death of ex-MEP Patrick O'Flynn
Political journalists and senior politicians have expressed shock at the sudden death of former Daily Express political editor and Member of the European Parliament Patrick O'Flynn, aged 59. He was a prolific commentator for the Express titles and other publications and a loyal supporter of Nigel Farage, serving as a United Kingdom Independence Party MEP from 2014 until 2019. Mr O'Flynn is understood to have died from cancer which advanced rapidly. Friends said he went to the doctor after feeling unwell, was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer and told he only had weeks to live. Leading tributes, Mr Farage said: "So sad to hear of the passing of Patrick O'Flynn. Paddy was a great journalist, a great thinker, a great patriot and a titan of our joint cause. Thank you, Paddy." Boris Johnson said: "Sad to hear of the loss of Patrick O'Flynn - a truly original conservative journalist who grasped the causes of much of the current discontent. His pieces were always punchy and persuasive. He will be missed." And Kemi Badenoch said: "This is dreadful news. I can't quite believe it. My husband and I always enjoyed Patrick's company. He often messaged me with thoughts on politics. Broadcaster and former Sunday Express political editor Julia Hartley-Brewer told Sky News: "It's just a terrible and huge shock. Such a genuinely good bloke." After his election as MEP for the East of England in 2014, Mr O'Flynn was UKIP's spokesman on the economy until 2015, when he stood as the party's candidate in Cambridge in the general election. He quit UKIP in 2018 and joined the Social Democratic Party and stood in the Peterborough parliamentary by-election in 2019 for the SDP, but received only 135 votes.
