DEAR oh dear. The prime minister has exposed his contempt for Britain’s decent, hardworking snake-oil salesmen. Well, I’m not ashamed to say I’m their champion.

This great country was built on the backs of snake oil and its derivatives. From the Crusades to the glory days of the British Empire, snake-oil merchants have been there, laying a comforting groundwork of deception.

Whether it’s good old-fashioned essence-of-cobra, leeches, ineffective nosegays full of herbs to protect against the Black Death or simply the dishonest men of the C of E, they’re a key part of our cultural heritage.

That’s why I’m enormously proud to represent this much maligned trade, whether by campaigning for Brexit or leading Reform. For too long this nation’s honest frauds, hoodwinkers and shit-stirrers have b

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