I think this is the right reading. Farage is trying to move the terrain to what he knows best (campaigning, division) from a position of weakness. It's an act of desperation. It may pay off in Clacton, which is incredibly right-wing, but it's bad for his reputation and his party nationally.
Ellie Mae O'HaganThink there is a funny tendency to see every move a far right leader makes as strategic genius, even when they are acting on the fact that they've obviously been backed into a corner. For the centre/liberals/left I think it is a marker of internalised defeat