Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has strongly condemned Independent MP Zarah Sultana for comparing Reform UK to far-right groups like the British National Party (BNP) and National Front.
Speaking on GB News, Kwarteng branded the comparison "an outrage", particularly given Reform UK's significant electoral support.
He accused Sultana of deliberately stoking division rather than seeking constructive solutions to political issues.
The criticism comes as Reform UK continues to show strong performance in recent polls, with support reaching the mid-twenties according to Kwarteng.
Kwarteng branded the remarks 'outrageous'
GB NEWS / PA
"She's not trying to bring people together and come up with solutions", Kwarteng said during his GB News appearance.
"She's inciting hatred and trying to polarise and divide people", he continued.
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Independent MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana Parliament.tvThe former Chancellor suggested Sultana's comments were politically motivated, stating: "The way she shores up her base, frankly, as she's not a Labour MP anymore, is to whip up those emotions".
He particularly took issue with her comparison to extreme right-wing groups, noting that Reform UK had "four million votes at the last election" compared to "a far-right fringe party, which really hasn't properly contested seats for many years".
Kwarteng emphasised the significant polling numbers Reform UK has achieved, pointing to their current position in the polls.
"If you look at current polling, the Reform Party, whether we like it or not, is in the mid 20s", he stated.
Sultana posted an anti-Farage message on X
GB NEWS
He argued that Sultana's comparison was particularly offensive given the scale of Reform UK's support among British voters.
"To say that all of those people who are leading the polls today, to say a quarter of the British electorate are essentially some far-right BNP supporting mass, is really offensive", Kwarteng said.
It comes after a row erupted over an X post by Sultana about Reform's upcoming conference in Birmingham.
In response to the uproar, Zarah Sultana MP told GB News: “As a born-and-bred Brummie whose parents suffered the violent consequences of far-right politics, I speak for many in this proud, multicultural city when I say: we reject the politics of hatred and division.
“In my view, based on the comments they have made publicly about Muslims and migrants, Reform UK is comparable to the National Front and the BNP. We pushed back against them before, and we’ll do it again.
“Reform UK is a party bankrolled by billionaires and led by ex-banker, public schoolboys. Its leader boasts of being the only politician in Britain keeping Thatcher’s legacy alive — the same Thatcherism that decimated pit villages and post-industrial towns across the Midlands, leaving generational scars.
“Their MPs vote against workers while bending over backwards for the elites who fund them. Their relentless scapegoating of Muslims and migrants is nothing more than a cynical ploy to deflect from the real culprits — the powerful screwing over our diverse, working-class communities.
“We stand for solutions, not scapegoats. And on March 28th, we’ll make that clear.”
