A Reform UK candidate has given a candid admission as to why he thinks he lost the General Election to Conservative rival Penny Mordaunt.
Melvyn Todd came third for Nigel Farage's party, behind Penny Mordaunt who finished second and Labour's Amanda Martin, who came out on top.
However, Reform saw the biggest vote change on 20.4 per cent, with the Labour majority at only 780 in the seat which had returned a Conservative MP at every election since 2010.
Now, Todd has spoken to GB News about the future of Reform as well as concerns over Labour's taxation policy.
Melvyn Todd finished third in Portsmouth NorthGB News/Reform UKHe said: "Yes, I was disappointed to come third but not surprised. The reason is that we have a giant of a Conservative in Penny Mordaunt. People were in a quandary as they had an allegiance to Penny and quite rightly so but they didn't like the Conservatives so they voted for Labour.
"This is unilaterally what's thought. If she wasn't such a giant we would have been power or very close. It was very close. Reform split the vote without a doubt. But if I had a choice between the two I would have voted Conservative, and you'll see very soon what the Labour Party will impose on us. I'm very worried indeed about what Labour will impose.
"I'm worried about taxation. Taxes will be increased quite dramatically. You would think that people on UC would be protected to a certain level but they seem to be imposing a lot of onerous rules on it.
"I'm not opposed to people reflecting on their UC and deciding if they still deserve it but you will have a lot of people there extremely worried who are legitimately in receipt of UC. So let's see what happens with that again."
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Penny Mordaunt at Portsmouth Guildhall, Hampshire, where she lost her seat in the Portsmouth North
PA
Asked whether he would stand for Reform again, he said: "Absolutely, without a doubt. I'm here for the long haul. Unfortunately, what I will be doing is saying 'I told you so. You knew what was happening here and this is the result' I think we will be significantly worse off.
"We've never had a Labour Party come into power and left the country in a better position. I'm genuinely quite worried about what is going to happen. I do feel for other people.
"Personally, they're going to impose this 20 per cent VAT on private schools. My youngest girl goes to a private school are they are going to do it.
"The fact is they're committing an illegal act under the European Court of Human Rights. It specifies imposing tax on education is illegal yet they're doing it. There'll be a lot of people making an appeal against it, and I'll be one of the first."
Despite this, Todd said he would still campaign to leave the ECHR. He said: "It is absolutely our policy [to leave], but that still does not stop us making that claim as that is the only recourse. If we did not have the ECHR we would not have any recourse.
"I would 100 per cent vote in favour of leaving. We should not be governed by an unelected body outside the United Kingdom."
When asked about the future of Reform UK in the next Parliament, he said: "We should have a lot more MPs. I thought we would have significantly more. Personally, I thought we would have nearer 20. Which could have happened if you look at where we came second.
"Never forget we had more votes than the Lib Dems and they have 70 odd seats and we have five. We really should have PR. But we have to build up our base of supporters and I get phone calls every day to say 'what is the next step'. We'll be targeting local elections and PCC election in Portsmouth."
