At this time of year, when major sporting events take place in the UK, sports vocabulary often infiltrates other areas. At Wimbledon, players sometimes commit unforced errors. So do politicians. It may be that this has now been true of Nigel Farage.
That may seem surprising. Mr Farage is a formidable fellow. It would be easy to argue that he has been the most important British politician thus far this Century. Without him - for better or for worse - it is probable that the UK would still be in the European Union. He is also the most effective communicator in British politics. His forceful style is designed for easy popularity. So what has gone wrong?
His party, Reform UK, is still ahead in the polls. For a time, it seemed as if the road to the Premiership lay open to him. But in recent months, he does appear to have lost momentum. It may be that his gifts as a communicator can sometimes work to his disadvantage. A lot of voters may find him lively and amusing. But is he serious enough to run the country?
Then came the financial questions. Nigel Farage had accepted a £5 million donation. He was also close to George Cottrell, who had served a prison sentence in the USA. Mr Farage insists that he did nothing wrong. Indeed, he has claimed that he had taken legal advice to ensure that he stayed within the rules. In his statement, he sounded sincere. If he did not believe he was telling the truth, he is an actor of the highest calibre.
But even if genuine, sincerity is not enough. When it comes to donations, politicians are not entitled to mark their own homework. Given the sums of money involved, there is clearly a prima facie case for an investigation, which would not be concluded until September. Another key Reform figure, Robert Jenrick, is also being investigated, though there is an irony. This relates to expenditures incurred while he was trying to become Leader of the Tory party. Returning to the Reform Leader, Nigel Farage clearly did not enjoy the prospect of arguing about donations for the next few weeks, while every other aspect of Reform's message would go unheard.
While this was happening, a new Labour leader might take the chance for some favourable publicity. There are those of us who believe that Andy Burnham is merely Keir Starmer with charm. Everyone agrees that he is affable, but affability is not enough for high office. It is more than likely that after a brief honeymoon period, it will become clear that he is shallow enough to drown in a goldfish bowl.
No-one would ever accuse Kemi Badenoch of being shallow. Equally, although she is affable enough, this is not the first quality that the voters identify. She comes across as strong and serious, and so she is. Increasingly, she is winning respect.
This makes life harder for Mr Farage. Abuse of the other traditional parties is one of his key themes. He is never happier than accusing all the other Leaders of being failures who have broken Britain and who are incapable of bringing about the change which the country needs. But this will now be a harder case to make. Mr Burnham has a freshness. It should not be impossible for him to distance himself from Sir Stumbler's stumblings. Even if this is a transient matter, it will not help Reform to hold on to currently defecting Labour supporters.
As for Kemi, she hardly comes across as a traditional Tory. Keir Starmer obviously wanted to fight the next Election against Liz Truss. So did Nigel Farage. Andy Burnham may try to do the same. But if Mrs Badenoch continues to display the qualities which she is currently deploying, she will be in a position to present herself as the best qualified PM among the available leaders.
Meanwhile Mr Farage has his by-election. It will be hard for him to ensure that the proceedings rise above the level of farce. After hoping for serious opponents, he will have to make do with Count Binhead. Before Rachel Reeves returns to the obscurity from which she should never have emerged, let us give her some applause. When asked if she would try to frustrate Mr Farage's wish for a by-election, she said that she would be happy to let him spend his summer arguing with a bin.
He will be hoping to use the campaign to build up momentum so that if the enquiry does find against him there could be no question of a further by-election. We shall see. It will not be easy even for someone with his powers of projection to retain his dignity when he is on all fours with the dustbin candidate. While Nigel Farage will be claiming to be better than the traditional politicians, the donations are bound to be thrown up, along the lines of: 'You say you're better than them. You're certainly better off.'
We shall see. Mr Farage's critics insist that he is used to having his own way and will quickly become tetchy and petulant if this does not happen. If that proves to be true, he is facing disaster. In Clacton, while lesser opponents attempt to mock him, he will have to patronise them, rise above their jibes, retain his sense of humour - and sound Prime Ministerial. That will not be easy. Although it is too early to conclude that he has made an unforced error, he has undoubtedly taken a hell of a risk.