Politics across Ireland and the UK is becoming increasingly divisive.

Whereas the general belief was that civility and common sense could win out in politics, the reality is that polarisation is beginning to infect our daily lives. Fascism is on the rise once again, and the very idea that this is happening is indicative how toxic politics has become.

Still, the one thing that comforts us all is that the far-right is often a jokeshop, not "a marketplace of ideas" as they so love to call it. Case in point is the recent election of UKIP's leader.

So it goes that the duly-elected leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, those far-right nutjobs who campaigned for Brexit before it was cool, is named... Dick Braine.

That's right, folks. The leader of UKIP is Dick Braine. Richard Braine is the name on his passport, sure, but he's Dick to everyone who knows him.

Of course, Dick Braine will likely set forth his policies for UKIP in the mean time. Obviously, he's going to have to contend with the shrivelled, flaccid standing that UKIP has in English politics. Not only that, it's also got to sort out the (erectile) dysfunction of its party, and get them all standing upright.

Yes, it's not like Dick Braine is out to shaft his party, or even make a balls of it. He's just trying to keep it up. His political party, that is.