Can Reform emulate its Canadian cousins?

A historic election defeat leaves the Conservatives crushed, Reform rampant and a left-wing government securely entrenched in power. The similarities between Canada in 1993 and the UK result of 2024 have been much remarked upon. But what is less discussed is the aftermath of that ‘93 result and the ten years it took to finally ‘unite the right’ under the merged Conservative party of Canada in 2003.

The man at the centre of those debates was Preston Manning. He founded and led the Reform party from 1987 to 2000, spending the final three years as Leader of the Opposition in parliament. Manning, now 82, is something of an intellectual godfather for Nigel Farage. As far back as 2013, Farage – the-then leader of Ukip – was talking publicly of taking inspiration from Canada. He spoke at the eponymous institute founded by Manning and later renamed the Brexit party in 2020 in honour of Reform.