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Richard Tice, leader of the Reform UK leader, said he would “not even take a call” from Rishi Sunak if the Prime Minister approached his party about working with him in the next general election.
Tice said many Red Wall Tory MPs were on edge after Reformers destroyed the Conservatives’ chances of retaining Blackpool South in Thursday night’s by-election. I He said he would “absolutely not agree to any deal” to ease Mr Sunak’s potential electoral woes.
“I wouldn’t even answer his calls,” Tice said. “There’s no need to make a phone call.
“We once trusted you. We don’t trust you anymore. It’s over, we’ll replace you. We don’t do business with you.”
Labor won the Blackpool South by-election by a huge 26% margin over the Conservatives. Labor candidate Chris Webb received 10,825 votes, followed by Conservative David Jones in second place with 3,218 votes.
Mr Theis spoke less than two hours before the results of the by-election were announced. I He believed candidate Mark Butcher “maybe” could have moved into second place, but Mr Sunak’s party finished ahead of the Reform Party by just 117 votes.
Mr Tice added: “What is rapidly becoming clear is that we are becoming the real opposition to Labor in the North, the Midlands and Wales.
“We’re on the way up, but it’s clear the Conservatives are on the way down.”
The Reform leader also said he was confident of winning “one or two MPs” to the Greater London Assembly when the results are announced on Saturday.
“It’s going to be very important in terms of valuable elected positions,” he said.
Although opinion polls show the Reform Party will not win any seats in the general election, it is expected to attract enough voters to significantly expand support for the Conservatives.
The Reform Party, formerly known as the Brexit Party, has nominated candidates to take on the Conservatives in the 317 seats it won in the last general election after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to leave the EU by 2020. I didn’t support it. He held only opposition seats and did not win any seats.
But Mr. Theis has made it clear that he has no interest in striking a similar deal.
There is also growing speculation that President Nigel Farage of the Reform Party may return to the front line of politics and take up a position as an MP.
Mr Farage founded what is now Reform UK (then named the Brexit Party) in 2018. He stood for the UK Independence Party (Ukip) in five general elections and two by-elections, but lost.
Tice said: If we’re at 5, 6, 7, 8 percent, that’s not a difficult decision for him, but considering we’re way ahead in the polls and it’s proven at the polling booths. , his choice became a little more demanding.
“There are serious problems with his broadcast contract, the job he loves. But the clock is ticking and it’s clear he’s thinking deeply about it.”
Earlier this year, polls in the Essex constituency of Clacton showed Mr Farage could win the seat, beating the Conservatives. But reformers are currently electing candidates in seaside towns.
Some people within Reform do not believe Mr Farage will stand for election.
Another party official said. I “At this point, it remains unlikely that Nigel will stand as an MP again.”
The official added: He loves his life and his job at his GB news. He has nothing left to prove. ”
pollsters said I If Mr Farage, who is honorary chairman of Reform UK but is not currently its president, returns as leader, the party’s popularity could rise significantly.
A party spokesperson said Mr Farage, the former Ukip leader, “will make a huge difference to our profile and will also bring in money”.
Mr Tice said: “It’s definitely a positive, not a negative, for Nigel to be in the running, but it’s true if that little element is already factored in. Probably not, but it’s a possibility.
“He’s the most famous politician in this country, along with Boris Johnson, so it’s definitely a plus for us.”
Last week, a ruling by media regulator Ofcom allowed Mr Farage to continue his show on GB News in the run-up to the general election, but only if he does not stand as a candidate.
Tice added: “Whether he runs for Congress or not, I am confident he will campaign for us and have a significant impact.”
Nigel Farage’s seven attempts to become an MP have failed.
If Nigel Farage stands as a candidate in the next general election, it will be his eighth attempt at becoming an MP.
He first attempted to enter the House of Commons in 1994, standing as a Ukip candidate in a by-election for the Eastleigh seat in Hampshire. He received 952 votes, or 1.7 percent of the vote.
The next four times he tried to become a member of parliament, he received less than 10 percent of the vote.
His major influence came in the 2010 general election when he ran against the then leader of the House of Commons, John Bercow, in Buckingham. The major parties have an informal agreement not to contest the chair position.
It was certainly not far behind third place, but at 17.4 percent it was 10 points below Bercow’s share. He also trailed the local pro-democracy campaigner by four points.
Mr Farage last stood for Parliament in 2015, when he campaigned to win the Kent constituency of South Thanet, which received just 5% of votes in the 2005 general election. I could only get votes. His 2015 run was seen as his best chance. Although he won the seat, he finished second with 32.4 per cent of the vote, less than 3,000 votes short of Conservative Party candidate Craig McKinlay’s victory.