Tory MP claims 'hero' Farage deserved knighthood as Reform UK's leader piles 'pressure' on Sunak

Farage had ruled out standing, warning six-weeks was not long enough for a constituency campaign and insisting he wanted to focus efforts on Donald Trump's 2024 White House bid.

However, Farage today announced he "changed his mind" as he set his sights on the Essex coastal seat which elected Ukip's Douglas Carswell as its MP in 2014 and 2015.

Fabricant, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992, argued Tories missed out on rewarding Farage for his Brexit crusade.

He told GB News: "We should have knighted him for forcing a referendum on David Cameron resulting in Brexit and invited him back as a hero into the Conservative fold where he belongs.

"How the pride of former Prime Ministers has damaged our party."

Fabricant added: "Of course, it puts more pressure on Conservative seats.

"The sadness is: Nigel Farage is a Conservative who believes in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom just as I do."

Farage, who is optimisitc about his chances in Clacton, is hoping to enter the House of Commons after seven unsuccessful attemps in Westminster parliamentary elections.

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He claimed he changed his mind after feeling a great sense of "regret" yesterday as voters in Boston & Skegness and Ashfield pleaded with him to stand.

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.”

However, Farage also "sarcastically" teased about striking a deal with Sunak's Tories ahead of his announcement.

During an interview with The Sun, Farage claimed the Conservative Party would need to offer him something beyond a peerage.

He said: "Do you know what? I got rid of Mrs May with the Brexit Party.

"I stood aside for Boris to help him win a massive majority. What are they going to do back for me?"

He continued: "I'm not asking them for anything other than I've done them some huge favours over the years as a party.

“Give me something back. We might have a conversation."

Discussing previous offers of a peerage, Farage added: "I’ve turned all that rubbish down in the past."

Farage handed Boris Johnson a major boost ahead of the 2019 General Election by standing down 317 Brexit Party candidates in seats then already held by Tory MPs.

Sunak turned down a similar type of arrangement ahead of polls opening on July 4.

A Conservative Party spokesperson also 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," a 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."

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

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

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."