Reform results ‘exceeding anything’ – Tory defection deadline ‘passed’ | UK | News
Nigel Farage explained (Image: Getty)
Nigel Farage celebrated Reform UK’s early local election boost at the party’s Millbank headquarters as Labor faced a bloodbath at the Red Wall and the deadline for the Conservative Party to join Reform passed without further passage.
Speaking to his supporters, Farage declared that British politics had been permanently reshaped. “I think what you are witnessing is a historic shift in British politics. Forget left-right, there is no left-right anymore. It’s gone, out the window, over.
“As you can see, we are achieving stunning percentages in traditional ex-Labour areas. We are now averaging 39% of the vote, bringing the number of seats already available to 145. We have gone way beyond anything I thought possible.”
Reform spokesman Zia Yusuf confirmed that the party had closed the door on the possibility of leaving the Conservative Party. “The deadline is over,” he told the BBC.
The party posted on
Conservative, Liberal Democrat and even Green party politicians have all defected to Reform UK in the past.
Most importantly, Nadine Dorries, Nadhim Zahawi, Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman have all left the Conservative Party.
Read more: Rachel Reeves ‘in hiding’ after shocking Labor election night wipeout
Read more: Reform’s Zahawi clashes with Labour’s Hazarika live on Sky ‘total chaos’
What do other parties say about Labour’s local election losses?
The Greens, who are expected to benefit from Labour’s losses in inner-city areas and predominantly Muslim communities, have criticized Foreign Secretary David Lammy for opposing Sir Keir’s replacement mid-term. “Don’t change the pilot during the flight,” Lammy told the BBC.
A Green Party source responded: “David Lammy has been saying all night ‘don’t change the pilot just because you hit turbulence’; David can’t see the plane is in freefall, says all we need to know about how out of touch Labor is.”
“The results of these snap elections are clear; people are rejecting this unheralded Labor Party.”
Did any Labor MPs want Starmer to leave?
The Labor leadership came under fire from one of their own earlier on Friday when Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash, who previously said he did not expect Sir Keir to lead the party at the next general election, demanded the Prime Minister set a timetable for his resignation.
Brash told the Guardian: “I think the best thing the Prime Minister can do now is to address the nation tomorrow and set a timetable for his departure.
“Then we can have an orderly transition to ensure that all the talent within the Labor Party can survive if they want to.”
