Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused the UK’s governing Conservatives of using his party’s rhetoric, but not acting on it. Speaking during Reform UK’s annual conference, which he headlined, Farage accused the Tories of implementing “big-state, high-tax” policies, adding that they have become “a social democrat party in all but name”. Alongside current Reform UK leader Richard Tice, Farage claims that the Conservative government has failed in its efforts to deliver Brexit and control immigration. Farage also repeated his position that he would not rejoin the Conservatives under the current leadership.
Farage caused speculation that he might consider returning to the Conservative fold at last week’s Conservative conference in Manchester. However, at the Reform UK event following the Tory conference, Farage stated that he would focus his efforts on backing Reform UK which he says is “bubbling away quietly just under the radar”. In Manchester, he ruled out joining the Conservatives “as it currently is” but stated that “never say never”.
Reform UK was born out of the ashes of Farage’s Brexit Party, but has never secured an MP. The party performed poorly in May’s local elections, retaining only eight councillors and failing to gain any seats despite fielding almost 500 candidates. However, it has consistently polled around 6%, putting it ahead of the Green Party. It campaigns on a “zero net migration” policy, as well as for tax cuts for lower earners and against the UK’s net-zero climate targets. The party has stated that it will field 630 candidates at the next general election, which is expected in 2023.
Tice said that Reform UK aims to end illegal immigration and criticised the government’s record on the issue. Tice said that “Only then will this crisis, this hurricane of migration that Suella Braverman talked about, only then will it be stopped”. Braverman is the home secretary. Tice also said that Reform UK, if voted into government, would scrap net-zero targets and work to reduce waiting times for the NHS. The party’s conference carried the slogan “Let’s Save Britain”.
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