For a better parallel with Donald Trump, try Enoch Powell

Both are anti-immigration and pro-Russia. Without media support the British firebrand became an outcast. With Twitter and Fox, Trump became president

Understanding the political success of the US president-elect, Donald Trump, is not easy. There have been many glib comparisons to populist politicians of the past, from Huey Long to George Wallace. But the most revealing comparison may be with a historical figure from another country: the British nativist firebrand Enoch Powell in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

At first glance, the comparison might seem peculiar. Powell came from a lower-middle-class family. He was a classical scholar of true erudition and a man of principle. He was also a political insider, having served as an MP since 1950 and as the junior minister for housing in Anthony Eden's government in 1955.

Related: My new year forecast: Trumpian uncertainty, and lots of it