Exit, stage right: Nigel Farage, the bombastic bloke at the pub who changed British history

Nigel Farage, who is the latest politician in Britain to quit in the wake of the EU referendum, said he did so after having achieved what he described as the very reason for his political existence.

During a speech Monday to announce his resignation as leader of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP), Farage said that he had “done my bit” in convincing Britons to vote to leave the European Union.

His comments that “I want my life back” quickly became a talking point on social media, with some agreeing that they, too, would like their lives back after a tumultuous week in British politics that saw Britain voting 52 to 48 per cent in favour of Brexit. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who wanted Britain to stay in the bloc, resigned shortly after the results were made clear.

‘I want my life back’: UKIP leader Nigel Farage to step down after Brexit victory

A bombastic populist who was often pictured in a pub with a pint in his hand, Farage was one of the founders of UKIP, a party whose main goal was for Britain to leave the EU.

Cameron once described UKIP as a bunch of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists.” But UKIP’s anti-establishment messages resonated with large numbers of voters, and pressure from UKIP and the Euroskeptics in the Conservative Party led Cameron to promise a referendum on Britain’s EU membership.