Conference season is looming, and with the Tories still 20 points behind Labour in the polls and the Chancellor refusing to budge on tax cuts, Guido hears Richard Tice’s Reform UK are capitalising on public dissatisfaction with its upcoming conference at the Hilton on 7th October. The tickets sold out five weeks in advance…
Attendance has doubled from last year and Guido hears that tickets for a schmoozy gala dinner, going for £125 a pop, have nearly all sold out as well. Money talks…
A Reform source tells Guido:
“We are happy that those who joined last year have seen fit to trust us, and stay with us, and more importantly are getting active, in the last week alone I’ve heard of local public meetings getting upwards of 50 attendees, this time last year we would have been pleased with 10…“
10 Reformers would be in a better mood than 100 Tories at the moment…
Reform UK’s “major announcement“ this morning hasn’t been universally well received. In particular, the few activists still clinging on to the remnants of UKIP certainly didn’t hold back. In a statement issued this morning, the party took aim at the “Crusty Wieners” in “Deform UK”. Guido doubts Richard Tice will be losing any sleep…
After publicly bragging that their overtures to Richard Tice have been “completely ignored”, the statement turned to more direct criticism:
“Today’s announcement is a reheated, best of British Sausage & Mash microwave meal; lumpy mash, dried up wieners and a bitter salty aftertaste!… Despite the endless 6-point plans, ego-massaging and lack of answers on policy, we learned nothing new about the floppy-haired, London-centric grifter company that continues to fragment our side of the political fence by design.”
They add “For the UK Independence Party, it’s very much business as usual.” Business as usual doesn’t go very far when you’re polling at 1%…
When Reform UK trailed a press conference for a “major announcement”, teased with the pledge “the band reforms”, there was only one thought on Guido’s mind. Well, Nigel Farage was up first, and he roundly rebuffed any speculation on that front – instead recommitting to his role as an honorary president on a purely advisory basis. This left Richard Tice to make his big announcement, that 11 former Brexit Party MEPs, including Ann Widdecombe and Ben Habib, were rejoining Reform UK ahead of the local elections. They’re planning to stand 630 candidates in the next General Election. Watch this space…
Reform UK has launched another push to persuade Tory councillors to defect. An email passed to Guido shows that Reform’s Head of Local Government Alex Wilson – a former Tory councillor himself – said “We’d love you to join us at Reform UK”, acknowledging that “it’s a big step to leave [the Conservatives], and it’s not a decision you can take lightly.”
The email accuses the government of being impossible to differentiate from the Labour opposition:
“Many are saying the Conservative Party no longer represents true conservative values – in fact it’s almost impossible to see much difference between the current Government and the Labour opposition. Both parties are pushing higher taxes on workers and businesses, both follow the Net Zero orthodoxy that’s contributed so much to the current energy crisis, and both have failed to protect our borders against the wave of illegal immigration that will put so much pressure on the local services your Council has to deliver.”
The party has managed to pick up a handful of defectors, with two Tory councillors joining in December and another in Sunderland crossing the floor on the 20th January. Will the latest push cause more headaches for the Tories?
Tory MPs in talks with Richard Tice and Nigel Farage’s party to defect have been ongoing for many weeks, Guido understands.
Contrary to suggestions in an i exclusive on Monday, discussions occurred well before Liz Truss become PM, and weren’t necessarily sparked by Rishi Sunak’s ascension to No. 10. Guido’s not sure whether this will reassure or worry Rishi…
Two days ago, The i reported that Red Wall MPs are “being courted by the Reform Party as it seeks a wave of Ukip-style defections among dissatisfied Tories,” Tice told the paper:
“I think it’s fair to say, without saying too much, that there’s some very disaffected ‘Red Wall’, industrial heartland, Tory MPs who thought they were joining a Conservative Party and have found themselves in a socialist party. They’re very, very unhappy.”
Guido understands a handful are responding positively, given the ongoing migrant crisis and failures by the Government. If Farage does return to the fray, and the Government fails to address the migrant crisis effectively, Rishi could be facing a major headache.
Comeback King Nigel Farage has again hinted at yet another return to the frontline of British politics. Last night, the inboxes of Reform UK supporters were hit with a bulletin from Mr Brexit, in which he says whether he takes a more active role in UK politics “will depend on the extent of the betrayal of Brexit”. He adds:
“I didn’t spend 25 years of my life battling to secure a seemingly hopeless cause only to watch Jeremy Hunt give it away”
Nigel’s intervention comes amid an uptick in Reform UK’s fortunes. The party is gaining in the polls, is taking members from the Conservatives and plans to stand a full slate of candidates at the next election. With news of record immigration and potential Brexit betrayal, the tide may be running in Nigel’s favour…
