The Reform UK boss has written to over 1,300 Tory councillors whose seats are up for grabs in May’s council elections giving them the “opportunity” to jump ship
Nigel Farage has escalated his war with the Tory Party by brazenly writing to hundreds of Conservative councillors urging them to defect.
The Reform UK leader revealed he has sent a letter to 1,352 warning the “vast majority” will lose their seat in upcoming council elections. Mr Farage claimed the Conservative brand is “done” as he lashed out at leadership contenders Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick.
In an added insult he pretended to forget the latter’s name in a video posted on social media. It presents a massive headache at Conservative HQ, which hopes to claw back after a disastrous General Election.
Mr Farage gloated: “There are 1,352 conservative county councillors out there whose seats are up for grabs next time around. Interestingly, a huge number of them genuinely agree with us and what we stand for. You see, the Conservative Party in the country is very different to the Conservative Party in Westminster.”
Describing the contents of the letter, he said: “You know in your heart of hearts that this is four years on from peak Boris when the Conservative Party was doing well. And you know that the vast majority of you are going to lose your seats.”
He said he wanted to “give them the opportunity” to put themselves forward for Reform UK instead. Candidates will be selected by the end of November, Mr Farage stated.
He said it is “actually irrelevant” whether Mr Jenrick or Ms Badenoch becomes Tory leader, saying: “The brand is broken. It’s done. You can’t betray people consistently.
After the video was shared, a Tory spokesman responded: “Reform has delivered a Labour government that has cruelly cut Winter Fuel Payments for 10 million pensioners and is now preparing to raise taxes despite all their promises not to.
“A vote for Reform this coming May is a vote for a Labour council.”
