Boris Tells Tories to Spurn Farage and Reform

Boris Johnson has warned the Conservatives not to merge with Reform U.K. as he laid out his vision for how they can revive their electoral fortunes. The Telegraph has the story.

The party has suffered a crushing defeat at the General Election, sinking to just 121 MPs and haemorrhaging votes to Nigel Farage’s party across the country.

But the former Prime Minister urged the “Tory survivors” who now form the Opposition not to “absorb other parties” in a bid to rebuild.

In his first intervention after the General Election, Mr. Johnson wrote in the Daily Mail: “I say to my fellow Conservatives, we are the oldest, most successful political party in British history.

“We are capable of endless regeneration. We don’t need to try to absorb other parties, to try to acquire their vitality like a transfusion of monkey glands.”

He added: “We need to occupy the space ourselves – and my humble suggestion to the 121 is that they need to rebuild that giant coalition of 2019, get back to some of the big themes that proved so successful that we won seats across the country.”

The former Tory leader said that Mr. Farage, whom he called “the cheroot-puffing Pied Piper of Clacton” has played a “significant part – as he no doubt intended – in the destruction of the Tory Government”.

Totally delusional. Boris still seems not to realise that he bears a large part of the responsibility for his party’s heavy defeat on Thursday because he so miserably failed to use his 80-seat majority – achieved, it should be said, off the back of Farage standing his Brexit Party troops down – to achieve what he promised, especially on immigration – in fact he did the opposite. Add to that his fanatical pursuit of authoritarian and unaffordable projects like Net Zero and lockdown and you quickly get to where we are today. But rather than recognise that he is a leading author of the Tories’ downfall, it’s so much easier to blame Farage for having the temerity to tell the Emperor he has no clothes. And “Pied Piper”, really! As though the voters really belong to the Tories but Farage has used his dark arts to lure them away and keep them hostage.

Notice, too, how Farage – a fellow conservative whose party’s manifesto was widely welcomed across the conservative press as what the Conservatives should be offering – has not been congratulated by the Tories for winning his seat. Rather he has been insulted and spurned.

Contrast this with how former Tory ministers have welcomed the new Labour ministers to their posts. No insults or criticism here, just warmth, as though handing over the baton.

Outgoing Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, for instance, tweeted congratulations to new Defence Secretary John Healey:

Great to see John Healey heading to the Ministry of Defence. He’ll have a massive head start having shadowed the department so successfully for so long. Wishing him every success.

And Michael Gove congratulated Angela Rayner on succeeding him as Levelling Up Secretary:

Congratulations to Angela Rayner on taking over such a wonderful department with a truly great team of civil servants – wishing her all the best on levelling up.

Perhaps most egregiously, David Cameron tweeted that Keir Starmer’s “success will be our success” as he sent him “my very best wishes”.

My thoughts are also with our new Prime Minister, @Keir_Starmer. His success will be our success, so as he starts his work and solemn duties in No. 10, I send him my very best wishes.

Seriously, y’all, these are your ideological opponents, stop it. They should be doing things completely differently to how you did them. That’s why you fought hard to keep them out. You’re not handing over the baton, you’re watching the enemy enter the sanctum and take charge. Don’t rejoice, weep and wail!

But they clearly don’t see things this way. Why are they so happy to see Labour Ministers take over? Why do they think “their success is our success”? Is there any clearer indication of the Uniparty in action?

If the Conservatives continue in opposition, as they did in Government, treating Reform, its agenda and voters with contempt, then they can expect to remain out of power for a very long time. In our voting system, a divided Right is an impotent Right. Celebrating Labour taking over while taking counsel to stay away from that dastardly Mr. Farage is the very opposite of the way back to power.