Nigel Farage calls Reform ‘largest unionist party in the country’ and says they will be robust in tackling threat from separatists like SNP and Plaid Cymru

As the sun set over Chelmsford racecourse, Nigel Farage projected a rosy vision of Britain under Reformation.

The ‘father of Brexit’, accused of risking the breakup of the UK by fueling the factional politics of nationalism, insisted he had replaced the Conservatives as the natural party of the Union.

Speaking as he prepared to give a victory speech in Essex on Friday, Mr Farage dismissed warnings that the country was “sleepwalking towards the end of the UK” after the demise of Labor in Wales led to Plaid Cymru taking control of the Cardiff government and joining the Scottish National Party (SNP) in pro-independence regional governments.

If Mr Farage’s long political march ends in Downing Street, he said, there would be no return to the cottage-burning terrorism of the 1970s and 1980s, when Welsh terrorists under the banner of the Sons of Glyndwr bombed British-owned holiday homes.

‘I was accused of being someone who wanted to break up the Union, but now we find ourselves the biggest party defending the Union,’ Mr Farage said.

‘We will have a minimum of 50 seats in Scotland and Wales together. No other party has more than this; We are the largest unionist party in the country.’

Mr Farage rejected claims that he gave the SNP a fifth successive victory in Edinburgh by splitting the right-wing, pro-Union vote with the Tories.

‘No, they split the votes,’ he says. ‘Obviously they [the Tories] He disappears in Scotland.

A sombre-looking Sir Keir Starmer speaking to the media after meeting Labor members during his visit to AFC Wimbledon in south London

‘They have become almost useless in the last few decades; no one can define what they truly represent. Frankly, we are Scotland’s unionist party.’

Channeling the overt patriotism that has fueled a decades-long career of political upheaval, Mr Farage says: ‘This has been a remarkable Union. It has survived incredibly well over the centuries and has benefited everyone.

‘Breaking it would be a disaster and we will defend it strongly. We can achieve this situation with effort and strength.’

The landing of four Reform UK helicopters at dusk in Essex, where Reform has wrested control of the council from the Conservatives after 25 years in power, resembled a cross between the hit TV series Succession, a money-filled chronicle of power and politics, and The Only Way Is Essex.

Mr Farage brushed aside criticism of the £5 million donation he received from Thailand-based cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, saying it was legal and was being used to fund his security.

And that doesn’t seem to have dampened the enthusiasm of enthusiastic, flag-waving loyalists who still see him as a ‘real’ person, unlike the typical robot Westminster politicians.

Mr Farage uses the same word to describe former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who agonized over whether to run for the Labor leadership.

Like the famously thirsty Mr Farage, Ms Rayner’s lifestyle has come under renewed scrutiny after the Daily Mail revealed she looked ‘completely destroyed’ during a visit to the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons.

Farage speaks to supporters at Chelmsford City Racecourse in Essex

Mr Farage, who described himself as ‘one of the few people in politics who is better than me in terms of pub profit’, said: ‘At least he’s real, I’ll give him that. So will people vote for him?’

He reckons Sir Keir Starmer will be toast as Prime Minister by the summer. Our slogan ‘Vote for Reform, Get Starmer Out’ was very successful. The rebellion has already begun and will accelerate. ‘Not enough MPs are looking for this and it’s indefensible.’

Of other potential replacements for Sir Keir, Mr Farage suggests that only Wes Streeting “won’t take the party so far to the Left”, while Ms Rayner, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham will “amplify” the “massive economic mistakes” made by Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Mr Farage also believes Mr Burnham is taking a big risk by planning to quit as mayor and run for a seat in the North West to enter the House of Commons and challenge the Prime Minister.

‘Is it really as popular as people say?’ Mr Farage asks. ‘It is not easy to come back and would drag the party down a leftist route, which would be disastrous for the economy.’

If Thursday’s results are repeated in the general election, Reform will be the single largest party but will not achieve an overall majority.

Mr Farage repeated his refusal to endorse a deal with Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party, citing the results of Reformation as evidence that there was no ‘leap from Kemi’. He doubts Ms Badenoch will lead the party at the next election, insisting the Conservative Party’s ‘brand is cursed’.

At the age of 62, does he have the energy to campaign for three more years and serve as Prime Minister until he is 70? ‘I feel fine for now,’ he says. He looks thinner. ‘I’ve been on the road for nine weeks. ‘We also drink less as we get older.’

But he is the first to admit that Reformation without Farage is Hamlet without the prince.

‘I try to appoint public figures, give others big appearances,’ he says. ‘But obviously I’m still an important part of it.’