RIP, Patrick O’Flynn: gentleman Brexiteer

Yesterday, we said goodbye to Patrick O’Flynn, who sadly passed away at the age of 59 after a short battle with liver cancer.

I had admired Patrick for some time, considering him to be a brilliant independent thinker with a no-nonsense writing style. At the Daily Express, he worked as political editor until 2005, after which he was appointed as chief comment editor. There, he was instrumental in persuading the Express to become the first national newspaper to call for Britain to leave the EU. One of the unsung heroes of the Brexit movement, he repeatedly and brilliantly made the case for restoring national sovereignty and democratic control.

Later, Patrick stepped into frontline politics. He began working for Nigel Farage as UKIP’s director of communications. In 2014, he was elected to the European Parliament as the UKIP MEP for the East of England region. He would later defect in 2018 to the Social Democratic Party. He believed that the newly revived party was a better fit for his communitarian politics. He also cited UKIP leader Gerard Batten’s appointment of Tommy Robinson as an adviser as a major reason for his leaving. Having witnessed the formation of Robinson’s English Defence League in my hometown of Luton as a young British Muslim, I always appreciated Patrick’s principled stance on the matter.

Patrick was a rarity in this day and age. He was a Cambridge-educated journalist and politician who instinctively understood the sentiments and needs of traditional working-class communities across the country. This was reflected in his regular articles for the Telegraph, the Spectator and, of course, here on spiked. For this publication, he wrote brilliantly and convincingly about a range of topics, with a typically no-punches-pulled approach. This included exposing the identitarian left’s silence over the nationwide scourge of grooming gangs, as well as warning Labour about its reckless embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement and divisive race politics. As a football-loving patriot, he also wrote affectionately about the spectacular rise of the England women’s team. His range was hugely impressive, and something I always aspired to emulate.

Back in 2022, after reading his work and following him on social media for a good few years, I had the opportunity to meet Patrick for the first time, during an appearance on BBC’s Sunday Morning Live. He was exactly what I expected him to be – a proper gentleman. He was good-natured, decent and thoughtful. Whenever we met, I always found him to be an extremely likeable person who had time for others. I was especially flattered that Patrick took an interest in my work. After hearing of his death, I trawled back through the messages we shared. Reading his words of support and encouragement brought a smile to my face, even as the realisation sunk in that he was gone.

While he was on this Earth, Patrick achieved a great deal – professionally and personally. He was loved and adored by many due to his warm, pleasant and approachable nature. And his tireless political activism told a story of a man who cared deeply about his country – especially those communities that have been neglected by the political establishment for far too long.

Rest well, sir. You have earned it.

Rakib Ehsan is the author of Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities, which is available to order on Amazon.