NIGEL Farage is rallying an army of “disaffected” voters, channelling their anger and frustration, a top Tory has claimed.
Ex-minister Paul Scully admitted the upcoming election is a lost cause for his party and that “sensible heads” will be needed to pick up the pieces after July 4.
Peter JordanFormer Tory minister Paul Scully on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots Election Countdown[/caption]
Peter JordanPolitical Editor Harry Cole hosting the latest episode of our daily election show[/caption]
LNPReform UK Leader Nigel Farage being welcomed on stage at a rally in Birmingham[/caption]
He also laid into Rishi Sunak for not waiting until November to go to the polls, as he argued the decision played right into the hands of the Reform UK Leader.
He told the Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots: “If it had been a later election, Nigel Farage would have been involved in Donald Trump‘s campaign…”
Mr Scully – who is not standing as an MP – insisted the “hysteria” surrounding the Brexit champion will not “necessarily translate into an election result”.
But he conceded: “It’s clearly not going to be good for us because Nigel Farage is in touch with the zeitgeist. It’s a disaffection.
“He’s basically the right-wing version of the Lib Dems, actually They’re not going to be in government, but they’re corralling disaffected people.”
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The former London MP went on: “He has tapped into that zeitgeist. He has tapped into that disaffection. He is talking to them. He is talking to them (the voters). He doesn’t have solutions for them. But he is channelling that anger.”
It comes after Mr Farage addressed a Birmingham rally on Sunday as he attempted to move past a racism row that has engulfed Reform.
He attracted a 4,500 strong-crowd and was welcomed on stage by fireworks and cheers in scenes rarely seen at UK political events.
Asked why he would have preferred a November election, Mr Scully referenced the PM’s disastrous general election announcement outside Number 10 under the pouring rain.
He said: “We surprised the umbrella holder. Clearly, if you are doing that, you are probably getting something wrong…”
Admitting defeat, Mr Scully added: “We have got three days left, and we have just got to get on with the job of actually making sure we get local champions that can provide that strong opposition.
“I think for me, I fear the election is lost.”
Asked by our Political Editor Harry Cole what will come next for the Tories, he said: “We need sensible heads to reconstruct the party.
“And it’s not a matter of swinging to one side or another. If you look at the polls, around 50 per cent go towards Reform and 50 per cent go to Labour and Lib Dems.
“So if you swing one way ideologically without getting the competence and the unity right, then you just end up dripping to the other side.”
Speaking to The Sun at his rally in Birmingham, Mr Farage insisted his conscience is clear, and the Tories have only themselves to blame if Sir Keir Starmer wins by a landslide.
He also dismissed claims that his return to lead Reform had paved the way to a Labour “super-majority”.
He said: “If I’d gone to the Bahamas and fished for a month, which was very tempting, the Tories were screwed. They’ve done it to themselves. They’ve broken trust.
“The Conservatives have not delivered Brexit.
“Five point five million men and women out there running small businesses feel totally betrayed.
“Millions of us who’ve wanted lower immigration numbers have seen 2.5million people go from the last two years. You know the Tories have betrayed Brexit.”