Reform UK is "out to beat" the Conservative Party at the next election and leader Nigel Farage has a "game plan," political commentator John O'Sullivan has told GB News.
The Tories suffered blow after blow on polling day as Labour won by a landslide and Reform had five elected MPs for the first time, including leader of the party Nigel Farage.
The former UKIP politician has lofty ambitions, O'Sullivan told GB News, with plans to oust the Tories at the next election.
Speaking about the Conservative downfall, GB News host Steven Edginton explained: "As you mentioned already, there are problems like immigration. So the problem wasn't that they were too right-wing, because certainly some Tory centrists are making that argument today."
John O’Sullivan explained the Reform UK leader has a game plan
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The political commentator explained: "If Nigel Farage's rhetoric on immigration turned people off, why did most of the former Tory voters go to Reform?
"This is dishonest. I would be perfectly happy with moderate, mild and militaristic rhetoric from the Conservatives if they pursued sensible, rational, strong policies.
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"In fact, they pursued a reckless immigration policy, bringing in enormous numbers of people without having a thought about how to house them.
"This was the opposite of a joined-up government. It was pursuing policies in order, in a sense, to please an industry that wanted cheap labour and to please human rights lawyers and pro-immigration NGOs (Non-governmental organisation) whom no one has elected.
"They put it in their interests before those of the British people and before those of the electorate and Tory voters. And so they lost.
"The Tory party was run by the moderate wing in the last two years, and it's just suffered one of the biggest defeats in its history. Of course they're going to blame it on other people, including other Conservatives, but that argument simply won't stand up."
Nigel Farage is the leader of Reform UK GB NewsEdginton then asked: "When it comes to the Reform Party. They won around 4 million votes. The Conservatives halved their votes from 2019 to 2024.
"In your view, how should the Reform Party and the Conservative Party move forward coming into 2029? Should they attempt to merge? How can the British right rebuild after this historic loss?"
O'Sullivan explained: "I think we have to be realistic. It's not going to happen quickly. First of all, Nigel Farage thinks, and I can't say he's wrong, that the Conservatives won't merge with him and he's not interested in merging with them, so he's out to destroy them, he's out to beat them in the next election.
"For him, it would be an enormous advantage if they were to go into the country under a new liberal leader.
"He thinks the quasi-moderate Conservatives should run the Conservative Party because they would lose by-election after by-election after by-election to Reform. And I think that's his game plan."
Steven Edginton asked if the Tories should move to the centre
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Farage previously hinted at taking inspiration from Donald Trump’s coup of the Republican Party in 2016.
He told The Sun: “What Trump did of course, is he was able to hijack the conservative party in America. I’d love to have had a crack at that here in this country.
"But of course, there’s no open primary in this country.The Conservative Party, several times, said they wouldn’t have me as a member.
“And it’s why getting anything changed in Britain is really, really hard.”