For both Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage there is a lot at stake in their battle to win the Oldham byelectionJeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage are self-evidently not twin brothers separated at birth. Telling them apart would not be a problem for even the most myopic of moles. Yet they have more in common than either would ever recognise,never mind acknowledge. Both owe their positions to the madden and alienation felt towards the political establishment by different and meaningful minority segments of the electorate. Both are Marmite politicians: you love them or you despise them.
Objects of near-worship to those they enthuse, subjects of awe and loathing among those they repel, and indifference is not the emotion aroused by either man. Both reject the conventional electoral wisdom that power is awarded to those who are most successful at capturing the swing voters on the centre ground. The calling card of both is an alleged superiority in authenticity and principle over mainstream politicians that makes both men vehicles for revolt against more traditional notions of how a leader ought to act,sight and think.
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Source: theguardian.com