‘Extinction territory!’ Farage’s election ‘game-changer’ forces Sunak’s Tories to fight for ‘survival’

The ex-Ukip leader spectacularly announced his candidacy for the coastal constituency, which backed his former party in 2014 and 2015, during a press conference in London earlier today.

Farage said: “The thing that really got me were the number of people saying ‘but why are you not standing?’

“And they look at you and you give a response and they look at you as if to say ‘you’ve let me down’. And I began to feel guilty about it.”

The decision has been described as Sunak’s worst-nightmare, with the Prime Minister’s hopes of seeing off Farage abruptly being cut short.

Reform UK insiders appeared triumphant just minutes after Farage announced he would venture up to Clacton for his eighth shot at entering Parliament.

A source told GB News: “We are going to flood Clacton like it’s a by-election. The Tories will have their top targets and so do we.”

Another Reform UK insider said: “It’s 100 per cent a game-changer. I think we will overtake the Tories almost overnight.

“What you’re going to see is our vote soar and the Tories implode. This is it, the start of a reverse takeover. CCHQ isn’t going to be very happy. I bet they’re s******g it.”

A senior source close to Farage added: “We could get an extra three or four per cent and then that brings in dozens of seats, from Barnsley to Great Yarmouth.

“There’s a cluster of seats which are now in play. We are going to focus on them. It’s not just about winning but also about vote share. A few per cent makes all the difference.”

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GB News understands that the populist party will pump resources behind Reform candidate Lee Anderson and Boston & Skegness candidate Richard Tice.

Farage’s announcement also ensured he replaced Tice as leader of Reform UK.

However, the pair stressed it was a joint-decision and Tice was not barged out the way by the bruising Brexiteer.

Conservative insiders appeared spooked by Farage’s announcement.

A veteran Tory said: “If Reform UK overtake the Tories, then we could be in extinction territory.”

Another Conservative source claimed: “We warned No10 about this over a year ago, but the Prime Minister and his ‘advisors’ chose to ignore our warnings about the threat of a resurgent Reform under Nigel. We are now literally fighting for our survival and trying to limit the damage we are about to see come polling day.

“We literally went to see Sunak in Downing Street and said this to his face. But they just didn’t want to know. If there is one man that can fill this political vacuum, whether you like it or not, it’s Nigel.”

Lichfield candidate Michael Fabricant even told GB News that the Tories should have handed Farage a knighthood after becoming a “hero” by forcing David Cameron to hold an in-out referendum on EU membership.

He added: “How the pride of former Prime Ministers has damaged our party.”

However, a Conservative Party spokesperson doubled-down on the message that a vote for Reform UK will put Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in No10.

"Nigel Farage risks handing Keir Starmer a blank cheque to rejoin the EU, impose the Retirement Tax on pensioners and hike taxes on hardworking Brits up and down the UK," the Tory spokesperson claimed.

"Farage knows that Reform won't win any seats, but he doesn't seem to care that a vote for Reform only helps Labour. He's doing exactly what Keir Starmer wants him to do.

"Just yesterday, EU insiders openly voiced their expectation that Starmer would seek a softer Brexit deal, opening the door to rejoining the EU all together.

“That would mean uncontrolled immigration and betraying the will of the British people."

Despite CCHQ warning a vote for Reform UK will ensure Sir Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister, a Labour source warned Farage could pose a threat to the Labour leader in the long-term.

The Labour insider told GB News: “It works for us in the short-term. Reform will take more votes from the Tories than us. But I think in the long-term he could easily end up as Leader of the Opposition for the Tories and that is a massive political headache.”

Farage was also far from convinced about his candidacy aiding Starmer' pitch to become Prime Minister.

He said: "Those commentators who are longer in the tooth might remember that in 2015 against all predictions we took more votes from the Labour Party than we did from the Conservatives.

"Keir Starmer may win, but we’re absolutely going to make sure that his percentage is a lot lower than it is now."

Turning his attention to Sunak's Tories, Farage added: "I think there’s every chance we’ll get more votes than the Conservative Party. I genuinely do.

"And you can all hold onto that in a few weeks’ time. But I genuinely believe we can get more votes in this election than the Conservative Party. They are on the verge of total collapse."

However, the "Bad Boy of Brexit" will likely make life difficult for Sunak and could yet end his own Westminster losing streak.

Farage had hinted at securing a 2019-style deal with Sunak but later stressed he was being "sarcastic".

A poll conducted in January suggested Farage would win by 10-points over Conservative candidate Giles Watling.

The survey carried out by Survation found the former Brexit Party leader would pick up 37 per cent, with Giles languishing behind on 27 per cent.

JL Partners pollster Tom Lubbock explained how Farage's decision could throw the election race wide open.

He told GB News: "Reform's numbers have been incredibly sticky since Nigel Farage said he wasn't going to be the leader, he was going to help with the campaign, but he wasn't going to be the leader.

"And people assumed, I think quite rightly, that the Conservatives would start to squeeze that Reform vote but it just hasn't happened.

"They've been incredibly sticky. And so I think to predict what exactly is going to happen next would take some chutzpah from pollsters who said the numbers might be squeezed after he said he wouldn't stand for Reform. But I think you have to say this isn't great news for the Conservatives."

The bookies also give Farage favourable odds on ending his electoral hoodoo.

Oddschecker’s Leon Blackman told GB News: "Earlier this morning, Reform UK was priced at 13/2 to win the Clacton seat, but following Farage's tweet, the odds have been slashed to 11/10.

"This change represents an increase in the implied probability of winning the seat from 13 per cent to 48 per cent in just one day.

"A dominant 89 per cent of Monday's bets placed on Oddschecker have backed Reform UK to win the Clacton constituency."

Farage is hopeful his breakthrough could spearhead a political "revolt" which could eventually lead to Reform UK supplanting the Tories in 2029.

Discussing his plan to lead a "political revolt", Farage said said: "Our aim at this election is to get many, many millions of votes.

“I am talking far more than what UKIP got in 2015, when we got four million. We are going to get many, many, many more votes than that.

“How many seats can we get in Parliament under this system? That is another matter. That depends on what momentum we can get from here.

The former Ukip leader can even count on the support of Pimlico Plumbers founder Charlie Mullins.

Mullins, who supported Britain remaining a member of the EU, revealed to GB News that he joined Reform UK last week and was in the audience to cheer on Farage.