I am not sure what to make of Marina Hyde’s description of Farage’s politics as the politics of “erectile dysfunction” (The soft power of Nigel Farage, 29 June). Does she mean that his politics is driven by sexual frustration? As a man with erectile dysfunction (ED), can I say that I am no more, nor no less, sexually frustrated than I was before the surgery for bladder and prostate cancer that resulted in my ED. Men with erectile dysfunction can still love and be loved, can have and give orgasms. We do not lose our sense of justice or ethics simply because we can no longer attain an erection. May I suggest a more appropriate metaphor for Farage’s politics: they are the politics of the “flasher”: selfish, vulgar, shocking and dirty.
Tom Oliphant
County Durham
