Opinion polls suggest many Conservative supporters are considering merging their party with Reform, but Farage’s growing coalition has dismissed the idea with scorn, saying it is focused on future elections.
Reform UK Party leader Richard Tice, newly elected along with four of his colleagues, appeared in good spirits when he appeared on British morning TV on Wednesday morning, and was comfortable answering some sometimes difficult questions. A major feature of the debate was the relationship between Reform UK and the Conservative Party, with host and former Labour politician Ed Balls unable to understand how the populist party could appeal to both ex-Conservative and ex-Labour supporters at the same time.
Speaking specifically about the Conservative and Labour parties, Tice said: “There is no difference between them,” adding: “They have failed us on a whole range of issues, whether it’s Brexit, whether it’s immigration, whether it’s taxation. They have essentially become socialists – high tax, high regulation, an over-protected state, mass immigration, net zero.”
Watch: Farage is booed during first Westminster speech after attacking anti-Brexit Speaker Bercowhttps://t.co/CgiFrbrfcf
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 9, 2024
The Conservatives “do not own the philosophy of conservatism” and should prepare to compete after failing so spectacularly, Mr Tice said. “We have a foothold in Parliament and we will fight in the county and local elections leading up to the next general election. Our aim in the next general election will be to oppose socialism.”
There has been intense speculation in recent weeks about whether the Reform Party would merge with the Conservative Party, but Tice was adamant that such a move was not on the cards. Good morning England:
Here we are, a few days after the election. I’m not talking to the Conservatives, I’m not interested in them. Frankly, they’re yesterday’s story. We are the future. That’s what we’re doing, that’s what we’re progressing and growing. We’re looking towards the elections in May, where we’ll be very successful… We’ve resisted all the nonsense and proved everyone wrong. It’s over now…
…What’s important is [forward] This is a different platform than the socialism represented by the two major parties in this election. We want high growth, low taxes, a small country, an immigration freeze, an end to net zero. This is what we stand for, and it’s completely different from the major parties that represent some form of socialism.
The comments were made by YouGov, a polling company popular with Britain’s establishment. New Research This shows that Conservative supporters are completely divided on whether they support the Conservative Party and Reform UK merging to form one party, with 47 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed, according to YouGov.
The polls nicely illustrate the real long-term problem the Conservative party faces, and has faced, which is the fundamental breakdown of its “big church” model and the country’s only right-wing party. The globalist centrists, mass immigration and control factions that have dominated the party for decades have essentially nothing in common with Brexit and border control factions.
Any attempt to absorb the reformists would ultimately prolong the uncomfortable situation of having two parties under one roof, leading to the endless infighting and stagnation that has characterized the Conservative Party for the past decade.
“Our goal is to oppose socialism in the next general election…”
📺 I appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss Reform UK’s success in last week’s election 👇 pic.twitter.com/kAt0VfcXJ4
— Senator Richard Tice (@TiceRichard) July 10, 2024
These problems are clearly recognised by some Conservatives on the right, but they still don’t seem to realise that their ongoing attempts to seize control of what is fundamentally an overwhelmingly centrist party are probably a waste of time and energy. Suella Braverman, the former Conservative home secretary who was ousted during the Sunak-Hunt coup because of her radically different views on the aims of a Conservative government, said in Washington this week: “We are [conservative] “They produced a policy document, but we did absolutely nothing.”
Regarding the Conservatives’ failure to curb mass immigration during their 14 years in power, despite repeated election promises to do so, Braverman said the problem was that party leaders simply didn’t want to do it. “The reason it didn’t happen was because [conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak] It didn’t happen. The politician chose not to do it. Not because it was impossible. Not because he made a valiant attempt and failed spectacularly. Because he simply didn’t, despite publicly saying many times that he wanted to do it. He saved face by not doing it, and achieved his goal. [of blocking reform].”
