Nigel Farage has written to every one of the 1,352 Conservative county councillors up for re-election next May, urging them to abandon the sinking Tory ship and join Reform UK. With Reform currently boasting just 29 councillors, Farage is keen to bolster his ranks. Poaching disillusioned Tories is certainly one way to beef up the numbers. And save time on any vetting process…
Farage is offering them a political “lifeline,” warning that sticking with the Tories could cost them their seats. Once again, he’s stepping on Conservative toes – this time not just by stealing votes, but by siphoning off their grassroots foot soldiers. Farage wrote:
“The Conservative Party is a busted flush – these 1,352 councillors are watching their time in office tick away, while they bicker over whether to choose a Leader with a sudden political conversion, or someone who refuses to leave the ECHR. I urge any Conservative councillors who believe in their country and share our values to join Reform UK as we build on the extraordinary inroads we made at the General Election.”
Meanwhile, Labour clearly fears Reform’s rise, with officials warning that Reform could overtake them in the polls by May, as Reform is already more popular. A Reform source told Guido:
“The message is very simple – join us now or lose your seats in May.”
Tory councillors have their chance…
Reform is stepping up its campaign to take down the Tories, reportedly preparing to unveil a “high-profile” candidate should Rishi Sunak step down. Though sources close to Sunak insist they’d be “surprised” if he steps down, his recent absence from the public stage is raising eyebrows. Reform sources claim Sunak and his deputy, Oliver Dowden, are gearing up to resign their seats. Sunak’s still eyeing the sunny shores of the Golden Coast…
Meanwhile, a Reform insider says that Nigel has “two former Tory MPs and one current Tory MP ready to defect’” and contest any forthcoming by-elections. Reform’s momentum is growing: they’re now more popular than Labour, and Labour aides are reportedly worried the party could surpass them in voting intention polls by the time of the local elections in May. With over 100 local branches launching soon, Reform continue to position itself as the real opposition…
Labour’s in free-fall over the Alli donations scandal, Number 10 is a circus (already forced to bin Sue Gray as Chief of Staff), and their new policies are sinking like a lead balloon. One would think CCHQ’s job attacking the government was easy. Yet somehow, they still manage to miss the mark…
Over the weekend, CCHQ decided to take a shot at the Winter Fuel Allowance cut, a policy that seems universally unpopular. They rolled out a video showcasing pensioners set to lose their allowance. Except instead of tugging at the nation’s heartstrings, the footage shows these ‘poor’ pensioners living in spacious homes – more comfortable than what many people, especially the young, can afford. They hardly appear to be hard-done-by little old folks shivering in the cold. One even appears to be wearing a solid gold Rolex…
This winter, pensioners will have to choose between heating and eating.
And that’s on Keir Starmer. pic.twitter.com/JMrqLyXtD8
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) October 4, 2024
Clearly Guido isn’t the only one who thought this was a little tone-deaf. In three days, the post got 20 million views, and only one thousand likes. Possibly the worst ratio in X history…
Tory leadership candidates are sending in their responses to Starmer’s speech. Suffice to say, they aren’t exactly complimentary…
Robert Jenrick didn’t mince his words:
“This was the speech of a Prime Minister at the end of his five-year term, not three months in. Sir Keir is already a busted flush – a Mr Grey, with a dour plan for the UK. Behind all the rhetoric there was no substance. How can Starmer have no plan to grow the economy, reform the NHS or control and reduce immigration after 14 years? It appears he is too distracted with sleaze, infighting and chaos in Downing Street.”
Kemi Badenoch jabbed at donation-gate (and now the new sausage-gate):
“Keir Starmer’s first Labour Party conference speech as Prime Minister will be mostly remembered for him calling for the return of the sausages. But he should be pleased that the commentary will focus on this, because the rest of the speech was a platitudinous word soup read out by an emperor naked without his free clothes.”
James Cleverly said:
“The Labour Party has had years to prepare for government; Keir Starmer’s speech shows those years were wasted. He talked about the mandate he won but he doesn’t have a mandate to strip millions of pensioners of their winter fuel payments, hike up taxes for hard working families, and introduce nanny-state policies that will destroy local communities and businesses. Keir Starmer won’t match our commitment to defence spending; he doesn’t have a plan to safeguard our borders; and his latest sleaze row has exposed him as a hypocrite. The only thing that hard working people can be sure of is that this Labour government will take their money so they can give it to their Union paymasters.”
Tom Tugendhat said:
“Instead of apologising for plunging millions of pensioners into poverty this winter and releasing dangerous criminals back onto our streets, all we saw today was arrogance and gloating. Keir Starmer continues to be dishonest about the choice he has made: to put his union paymasters before the service of the British people.
This isn’t the leadership we need, this is a Labour government that only serves the unions and is taking the public for fools. It’s time to start acting like a Party in government. Not opposition.”
Gearing up for the leadership showdown at Tory conference next week…
Rachel Reeves is back in the spotlight as the Tories accuse her of potentially breaching parliamentary rules by failing to fully declare a holiday gifted by Labour donor – and notably now Labour Mayor for West Midlands – Richard Parker. True to form of a Labour politician, Reeves enjoyed a week at Parker’s £1,400 holiday home in Padstow last July. Though while she logged the stay, she conveniently omitted that family members also enjoyed the trip…
In a revealing chat with Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning, Reeves admitted to taking a “family holiday,” a slip that could land her in serious trouble. The Code of Conduct is clear: MPs must register any benefit given to third parties if they are aware of it. Shadow Exchequer Secretary Gareth Davies weighed in, highlighting the potential fallout from this oversight:
“It appears that Rachel Reeves has broken parliamentary rules as she has failed to properly declare a donor gifted family holiday. This Chancellor has endlessly preached about the importance of integrity and honesty but now it appears she might well have broken the rules, just like the Deputy PM.”
Labour are fast becoming the party of opacity and cronyism…
The Conservatives have written to the Standards Commissioner, calling for a full investigation into Keir Starmer’s failure to disclose donations from Lord Waheed Alli. This comes after it emerged Starmer failed to declare the fact Alli footed the £5,000 bill for Starmer’s wife, Lady Vic, to indulge in a personal shopper and have her dresses and clothes altered. Potentially a serious breach of parliamentary rules…
Starmer, who previously reminded the Tories in 2021 of the need to declare donations within 28 days, now stands accused of not practicing what he preached. So much for his claims of governing with integrity, honesty, and promising to “clean up” politics…
Read the letter, written by a Conservative MP below:
