...as Farage’s party nudges ahead of the Tories for first time
NIGEL Farage last night claimed that Reform were now the ‘opposition to Labour’ after his party passed the Tories in a poll for the first time.
Support for Reform rose by two points to 19 per cent, while the Conservatives remained at 18 per cent, the YouGov survey conducted for The Times found.
The timing is especially troubling for Rishi Sunak’s strategists, as the poll was conducted following his party’s manifesto release on Tuesday.
Responding to the result, Mr Farage told a debate on ITV1: ‘Just before we came on air we overtook the Conservatives in the national opinion polls. We are now the opposition to Labour.’ The Reform leader had earlier offered to lead a merged party combining the Conservatives and Reform as the opposition to any Labour government.
Mr Farage – who believes Sir Keir Starmer is certain to enter Downing Street next month – said the centre-Right of British politics needed a ‘coherent voice’ in Parliament after the election. He claimed he was the figure most capable of leading a ‘national opposition’ and holding a Labour government to account.
Last week, the veteran Brexiteer revealed he has a six-year plan to reshape British politics – and hopes Reform can be the largest party in Parliament in 2029 after a stint in opposition. He told LBC radio: ‘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.
‘[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.’
Ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has called for Reform voters to join ranks with the Tories. He said: ‘If you divide the Tory family you make it worse for both parts, the in-laws and the outlaws, so to speak, and that what we need is a coalition, a coalescence, of the various parts of the Tory party family.’