Latest Tory defector says only Nigel Farage can deliver ‘revolution’ | Politics | News

Britain needs a “revolution” and only Nigel Farage can deliver the change the country needs, according to a veteran Brexiteer who has become one of the Conservatives’ most prominent grassroots activists. David Campbell Bannerman opposed Boris Johnson’s removal as prime minister and, as co-founder of the Conservative Democratic Organization (CDO), fought to give the rank-and-file Conservative Party control over candidate selection.

But the man known to his friends as DCB, who was deputy chairman of Ukip between 2006 and 2010, has decided to get behind the Reform UK leader’s bid to become prime minister.

“In my opinion, only Nigel is offering us a revolution,” he says. “He is a revolutionary leader.”

He has served as both a Ukip and Conservative Party MP in the European Parliament and sees huge potential for a Right-wing coalition in Westminster after the next election.

Mr Campbell Bannerman admits he likes Kemi Badenoch’s “feistiness” but says he does not think she is “capable of bringing the revolutionary government we need”.

He points out that the Conservative Party polls “20 per cent on a good day” and says it is misleading to think the party is turning around.

Not only has it not been reformed to give members more control, he argues: “It’s still shrinking. It’s still dying.”

His departure was a boost for Mr Farage, who was struggling to win the Clacton by-election with the largest possible majority, which was boycotted by his rival parties.

Mr Campbell Bannerman is confident Mr Farage can cope with the pressure of being Prime Minister. He saw his work ethic up close after surviving a plane crash in 2010.

He recalls: “On election day, as I was walking through a churchyard on my way to vote, I received the terrible phone call to say that Nigel had had an accident. [and] He was in the hospital. Nigel’s thing was that he kept working, and I remember him lying on the floor of his office in the European Parliament, still working on his phone. “She is incredibly resilient and incredibly brave.”

Prominent Tory figures who attended CDO events, such as Nadine Dorries and current Greater Manchester Mayor Andrea Jenkyns, defected to Reformation.

“Most of the Conservatives I respect have crossed over,” he says, name-checking Robert Jenrick, Suella Braverman and writer Tim Montgomerie.

“Reform is now the real Conservative party,” he claims. “But I hasten to point out that this is not just an alternative Conservative Party. It is not, it is much more than that.”

He wants the Reformation to lead to a fundamental change in English life.

He argues that the NHS “needs a revolution”: “It’s a great service, it’s a great principle, but it needs to be run better.”

An admirer of Margaret Thatcher, he believes that “a lot of what the government does can be delegated to others.”

Citing the need for massive investment in the armed forces, he says Britain should “reinvest in defence, the money currently lost to welfare” and pushes for a revival of the economy “through tax incentives and tax cuts”.

“We are in danger of destroying the economy,” he warns. “That’s what Labor and Reeves in particular have done. It’s a disaster.”

The former advertising and public relations professional now heads the Freedom Foundation and thinks freedom of expression is “in danger”.

“We have to fight these culture wars,” he says. “We must stop the destruction of our country through thousands of cuts.”

He is excited by the idea of ​​a Right-leaning Government coming to power that has a clear agenda and is prepared to take on public service if necessary to deliver on its promises.

“I’m a politician,” he explains. “Politics is what changes people’s lives.”

He is encouraged that fellow defector Danny Kruger is at the center of Reform’s preparations for power. But it is Mr Farage’s presence at the helm that gives him the greatest confidence that change is possible.

“The thing about Nigel,” he says, “is[is] He knows his own mind. He knows what he wants to achieve and makes quick decisions.

“Starmer made a mess… as did May and Sunak. They were terrible leaders. I think Nigel will give clear direction.”

He hopes the Reform Government will resolve the outstanding Brexit issue.

Mr Campbell Bannerman, who served as a special adviser to then Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Patrick Mayhew as the cornerstones of the peace process were being laid, was appalled by the post-Brexit agreement to avoid border crossings with the Republic of Ireland.

He says: “We need to get rid of the Northern Ireland Protocol which will require a lot of political will and determination because the EU and Ireland will also go bananas… We cannot leave Northern Ireland behind. I’m afraid the EU has played very dangerous and evil games on Northern Ireland and they have been allowed to get away with it.”

He wants to see Britain use its freedoms outside the EU to cut through red tape.

“We must stop trying to imitate the EU” [as] “If we’re still part of it,” he says, “that’s what the Labor Party wants to do. We need to be refreshingly different. “We must scrap many of these EU laws that are destroying the economy in Germany, France and across the EU.”

Still fervently optimistic about Britain’s potential outside the bloc, he says: “We’re in a very strong position where we can take the best of Europe, the best of the United States.”

Leaving the Conservative Party is a bittersweet moment for the former MP, who is confident the party would have been strengthened if it had adopted a series of reforms the CDO was fighting for: “If it took control of its members again, it would be democratic and more right-wing,” he says. “It would be in the right place because the members are trustworthy.”

The University of Edinburgh graduate represented the Conservatives in 1997 and 2001 but joined Ukip in 2004 and won the European Parliament election in 2009. He rejoined the Conservative Party in 2011, after being nominated to lead the party in 2010, arguing that only the Conservatives could “realistically offer a way out of the EU”.

“I only changed parties for good reasons,” he says. “My guiding light is always my country, what is best for my country.”

He fears that “the Conservative party will always be woke and Left-leaning” because members are “not held accountable”.

But he insists he has “huge respect” for local Conservative Party councilors and activists and warns against political attacks because “we will probably end up working together in a coalition”.

For him, the real question is who would be “on top” in a coalition, and he very much hopes that it will be Reformation.

“I think this could be a truly revolutionary government,” he says. “And that’s exactly what we need.”