‘Farage is right to dismiss Tory leadership contenders but Reform needs sort its own wheelhouse fast’

The Brexit supremo has been on the lips of Conservative leaders for the best part of two decades.

David Cameron initially labelled Farage’s disciples as “fruitcakes and loonies”, Theresa May reduced the Conservative Party to proverbial rubble by June 2019 as the Brexit Party surged and Boris Johnson became desperate to agree a one-sided deal to ensure the UK left the European Union.

Rishi Sunak was left in a similar position but suffered even more so at the ballot box.

Reform UK hoovered up 4.1 million votes and returned five MPs to the House of Commons.

However, estimates suggest Farage’s decision to stand in Clacton as Reform UK’s leader decimated Conservative candidates in up to 80 seats.

All six of Sunak’s potential successors have made clear it is time to reach out to Tory-Reform UK switchers but not to Farage himself.

Suella Braverman, who spectacularly dropped out of the contest over the weekend, was the only contender serious about involving the former Ukip leader.

However, Farage has had enough of being seen as the right’s court jester or even king-maker.

Given the disdain shown towards Farage by the Tory Establishment, Farage shouldn’t worry too much about the events of the Conservative leadership contest.

After all, Farage might not explicitly admit it but the Clacton MP would love to destroy the Tory Party.

• Priti Patel ‘best-placed’ to take on Farage as Reform bigwig backs bid
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“More like a takeover, dear boy,” the Reform UK leader quipped ahead of July 4.

As much as Farage is close to some of the hopefuls, particularly former Home Secretary Priti Patel, and is more keen to take on One Nation Tories, if Lee Anderson’s remarks about Tom Tugendhat are anything to go by, Farage needs to focus on delivering.

This isn’t to say the 2024 Tory leadership race isn’t going to have a profound impact on Reform UK; of course it will.

However, a poll recently conducted for GB News by JL Partners suggested Reform UK dodged a bullet after Braverman was forced to pull out of the race.

The survey put the former Home Secretary as the most popular with Reform UK voters, with other contenders languishing behind by some distance.

Reform can also let Tory leadership hopefuls do most of their dirty work for them.

Despite a yellow card system being introduced to prevent blue-on-blue squabbles, it’s hard to imagine Tories not taking lumps out of one another at every possible opportunity.

Farage, a great student of history, should channel Napoleon Bonaparte rather than Winston Churchill.

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake,” the former French Emperor is oft-quoted as saying.

It’s almost as if the populist party’s high command has been reading ‘Maxims of War’ because Reform UK insiders were keen to stress, to put it mildly, they don’t care.

“What they don’t realise is the brand is completely and utterly toxic,” deputy leader Richard Tice told GB News.

A senior Reform UK source added: “We just don’t care. It’s somebody else’s problem.

However, Reform UK can prepare attack lines on the Tories and Labour on issues ranging from immigration to winter fuel payments.

So, what else do Reform UK need to do if it wants to keep its people’s revolt alive?

Ben Habib, who backed Priti Patel’s leadership bid after being sacked as Reform UK’s deputy leader, is constantly putting pressure on Farage to let populist party's voters take back control of its decision making.

He said: "You can't create a movement of people and then champion those people without promoting the democratic unit that is the United Kingdom - making the arguments for the sovereignty of the UK through our democratic Parliament, and yet have a massive democratic deficit ourselves.”

There appears to be much disagreement between Farage and Habib on how to restructure the rebranded Brexit Party.

However, if an email leaked to GB News is anything to go by, Reform UK’s new chairman Zia Yusuf is pushing for change ahead of the next general election.

Yusuf said: “Nigel Farage asked me to be Chairman in no small part because of my background in building one of the UK’s fastest growing companies from scratch. I know what it takes to harness enthusiasm and rapidly build something of significance."

He added: "We are under no illusions as to the scale of the task at hand. Mobilising such a vast grassroots movement will be the hardest work of our lives. But we are up to the task. We will rise to the challenge.

“You will shortly hear about our bold plans to build a democratised branch structure. I ask all of you who can, to consider how you may join our mission directly. To those who feel despondent, I promise you this country has faced darker hours and emerged victorious.

“We will do so again. In Nigel Farage we have the greatest political talent of our lifetimes. We have supporters and volunteers with more passion and enthusiasm than any other party.

“Now we will inject a level of organisation and energy never before seen in British politics. We must save our country from the abyss, and return it to greatness."

Establishing a national network would enable Reform UK to conduct a more concerted campaign across the UK.

Ukip, even in its 2015 pomp, struggled to leave more of a mark as it was outgunned and out-thought by established political parties.

Implementing a change at the grassroots could help build up a base to fight elections rather than remaining dependent on Farage’s own celebrity status.

It would even enable Reform UK to cut the gap with the Liberal Democrats.

Despite receiving 598,022 more votes than Sir Ed Davey’s centrists, Reform returned just five MPs as the Liberal Democrats smashed through the Tory shires to elect 72.

Even though fewer voters backing the Liberal Democrats compared to 2019, 72 MPs ensured centrists celebrated the party’s best performance since 1910.

And Reform UK also needs to focus on fighting elections as early as tomorrow.

The populist party is already focusing on the local elections.

In a letter to activists in the bastion of populist politics, Reform UK’s East of England branch said: “Our immediate focus is the Local Elections in May 2025, whether they are County Council elections or Borough/District Council we need as many Candidates as possible to stand for Reform UK.”

The latest announcement comes after Reform UK underperformed in the 2024 local elections.

The populist party gained just two seats, both in Havant, as it fielded candidates in just 12 per cent of wards.

Reform UK put up 323 candidates out of the 2,655 contested wards, well-below the 1,646 fielded by the Green Party.

Ukip previously elected 202 councillors in 2015, just one year after returning 166 to the local level.

Speaking to GB News ahead of May’s local elections, a Reform UK insider said: “We will do what we can but it certainly isn’t our focus.”

Reform UK instead fielded a “glut” as the local elections remain a “secondary interest” to the populist party.

Essex, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire all have county council seats up for grabs, with Hampshire and Kent also looking fruitful for the populist party.

Doncaster and the Isle of Wight could also deliver a Reform UK tidal wave as both areas witnessed a surge in support on July 4.

A Reform UK insider also recently revealed to GB News that Wales could see the populist party make inroads in 2026, with Labour having a controversial legacy in Cardiff Bay and the principality voting for Brexit.

The populist party had several hiccups with candidates, including a man being suspended for inactivity who was later revealed to be dead.

Two candidates even defected to the Tories following an investigation uncovering racist remarks by an activist in Clacton.

Other candidates lost Reform UK's support ahead of July 4 for controversial comments about black people and channel-crossing migrants.

Reform UK doesn’t have to do much over the next few months with the Tory Party; they can rest assured Conservative MPs will sort most of that themselves.

However, a big change has to come to Reform UK’s internal structure and strategy if it really wants to “realign” the centre-right and take the fight to Labour in 2029.