Nigel Farage has said he would be willing to lead a merged Reform-Conservative party after the election as a “national opposition” of the “centre Right in this country”. The Telegraph has more.
The Reform party leader said he could not lead the Tories as it “currently is” but predicted a new party is likely to emerge after the General Election.
Asked if he could rule out one day leading the Conservative Party, Mr. Farage told LBC this morning: “I think something new is going to emerge on the centre Right, I don’t know what it is called.
“But do I think I am capable of leading a national opposition to a Labour Party with a big majority where I can stand up and hold them to account on issues? Yes.”
Asked if he would be happy to lead a merged party, he replied: “Yes.”
He added: “They [the Tories] may be dead. They may well be dead. This may well be the end of their journey. I would be prepared to lead the centre Right in this country.”
Worth reading in full.
Interestingly, Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson wrote this week that Farage’s ‘manifesto’ is basically what he thinks the Conservative manifesto should be – on the NHS, tax, climate and immigration. Clearly Reform is capturing something about what those across the Right want but that the Conservative party, riven by divisions between its Right wing and ‘One Nation’ flanks, has been unable to deliver.
But with the Tories parachuting its Left wing into the safe(ish) seats, how many Conservative MPs who survive the election will want to team up with Reform? I suspect the old party may split after the election, with the surviving Right linking up with Farage and the Left of the party continuing as a Lib Dem-like rump. Chances are though that it’s the Right who will have to leave – the Left has most control of the upper echelons of the party so will probably be able to keep the brand, despite ‘Conservative’ being an increasingly obvious misnomer for their beliefs. The grassroots will be deeply unhappy about that, of course, so expect some serious fireworks over the direction of the party in the coming months. Or will the Tory Left finally accept the truth about who they are and team up with the Lib Dems? At this point, what comes after the deluge is anybody’s guess.
Stop Press: Reform has overtaken the Conservatives in the latest YouGov poll, with 19% compared to the Tories’ 18%. “This is the inflection point,” says Farage. “The only wasted vote now is a Conservative vote. We are the challengers to Labour and we’re on our way.” The Telegraph has more.
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