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- Crime pays unfortunately - 3rd June 2026
During 23 years with the BBC and 42 years in journalism (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, has interviewed countless politicians of both left and right, with populist ones of the right now dominating headlines.
It shouldn’t be forgotten, though, that populist politicians exist on the left as well; and this is now underlined by a new biography of one of them – the notoriously dodgy Louisiana Governor Huey Long.
There are successful politicians of all stripe, and many of them I have interviewed over the years.
We hear a lot today about Donald Trump or closer to home, Nigel Farage.
But these are both populists of the right, and we shouldn’t forget there are those of the LEFT who have been equally successful.
They have been significant figures in the past, and could be so again, so it’s important to look at this landscape closely.
Take, for example, the famous (or notorious) Louisiana Governor, Senator, and would-be US Presidential candidate, Huey Long.
His reputation for double-dealing and tendency towards demagoguery is being revised today, because he achieved a great deal, and a new biography about him has just been published.
Huey Long believed that his authoritarianism served the interests of the people, declaring once “I am the constitution”.
Perhaps echoing this, Mr Trump last year said he didn’t know whether the constitution should be upheld in his heavy-handed deportation of immigrants because legal submissions were “time consuming”.
In May he argued in an interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ that fulfilling his ambitious campaign promise to carry out rapid mass deportations could take precedence over giving immigrants the right to due process under the constitution, as required by law courts.
Huey Long claimed that he had bought one Senator “like a sack of potatoes”, and this might put people in mind of Mr Farage (who has NOT bought anyone, although the parallels for many still stand).
Mr Farage and his party Reform UK have also faced serious questions about the use of money.
For instance he was asked to account for how his partner paid for a £885,000 home after a BBC investigation had raised major questions about his explanation.
He suggested that she was able to afford to buy the four-bedroom home, which was bought without a mortgage, because she comes from a wealthy French family.
However, the BBC examined French property and company records, and was unable to find evidence that her parents had the means to give their daughter a significant contribution towards the purchase of the home.
Mr Farage has denied any impropriety.
Bad headlines, though, have continued to dog Mr Farage, with money at their heart.
In 2024 newspaper reports had suggested that Elon Musk wanted to make an unprecedented $100 million donation to Reform UK.
The story, which both sides denied, sparked concerns about foreign interference in British politics.
Let’s return to Huey Long though, because it is instructive as it shows that controversial populist politics are nothing new, and are not just confined to the right.
His political overreach led to his impeachment, which he outflanked with patronage, procurement and promises to those who supported him.
He lost control of Louisiana in part because increased federal power made it more difficult to pursue his questionable activities of patronage at a local level.
As this shows Huey Long hit hard times, and they weren’t always to do with his politics.
As a Senator he earned himself a black eye after accidentally peeing on the man standing next to him at the urinal.
Messrs Trump and Farage have certainly never done this as far as I know, but bizarre things are coming out all the time, so watch this space!
Remember there is nothing new under the sun.
While populists of the right like Mr Trump and Mr Farage may be in the news at the moment, don’t forget the other kind!
The memories of Phil’s astonishing, decades long award-winning career in journalism (when he interviewed many politicians of both left and right, populist and not), as he was gripped by the rare neurological disabling condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A Good Story’. Order it now.
American Populist: Huey Long of Louisiana is by Thomas E Patterson.
