Farage’s next move: wooing Tory defectors

Which party should be the most worried about next year’s local elections in May? Despite winning a large majority this year, they could prove tricky for Labour – with Keir Starmer seeing his personal ratings drop to -30 in his first 100 days. But Labour blues don’t necessarily translate into wins for the Conservatives. Instead, Nigel Farage is looking to use the local elections to cement Reform’s status as the real opposition.

With all 21 county councils in England up for election, the Reform party leader has written to every Tory councillor facing re-election, calling on them to defect to Reform UK. In a letter sent to the 1,352 Tory councillors, Farage writes that the Tory party is a ‘busted flush’:

‘The Conservative party is a busted flush – these 1,352 councillors are watching their time in office tick away, whilst they argue between themselves on whether to choose a leader that’s undergone a Damascene political conversion and a someone who won’t leave the ECHR.