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Rishi Sunak and a string of senior Conservatives condemned Nigel Farage for the claims the west provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraineamid a growing internal Tory battle over how to deal with the Reform UK leader.
The Prime Minister accused Farage of playing “into Putin’s hands” after making the claim on the BBC Panorama interview on Friday in which he linked NATO and EU expansion to the conflict in Eastern Europe. Tom Tugendhat, the security minister went further, telling the Observer: “It doesn’t matter if you’re Jeremy Corbyn or Nigel Farage – if you repeat the Kremlin’s lies, you cannot be trusted with our national security.
Home Secretary James Cleverley also criticized the comments, adding that Farage wanted to “destroy our party”. Ben Wallace, a former defense secretary, described Farage as a “pub bug”. Labor leader Keir Starmer also condemned Farage’s comments as “disgraceful”.
The Tories are desperate to stop the huge a threat that the United Kingdom poses for them, in some scenarios reducing their seats in the next parliament to below 100. Opinium’s latest survey of Observer giving Labor a 20 point lead over the Tories. This shows that Reform is only four points behind the Conservatives, with 16% of the vote
“Clear blue water still exists between Conservatives and reform, but Rishi Sunak will be up against a quarter of Tory voters in 2019 who support Nigel Farage’s party,” said James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium.
Farage’s comments were also picked up by the liberal wing of the Conservatives, who fear that figures on the party’s right will encourage him to join the Tories after the election. “This is a very telling comment that shows the mask is slipping,” said Damien Green, One Nation faction leader. “Showing sympathy for a murderous tyrant who has killed hundreds of thousands of his own people is not the position of a mainstream democratic politician.”
There is a huge Tory division over Farage – part of a wider battle over the party’s direction that will erupt once the election campaign is over. Some senior conservatives fear the party could split in two, especially if there is a new leader opens the door for Farage to join. One former cabinet minister said he now feared a “crack” after the election.
Liberal-wing Tories are concerned that in the midst of a leadership election, mainstream candidates may feel pressured to commit to letting Farage in to appease party members. Moderate Tories are largely hold their tongues during the campaign, which saw the Conservatives focus on immigration to rally the right-wing vote. This tactic has been brutally undermined by Farage’s re-entry as leader of Reform UK.
Moderate lawmakers say they have focused on damage limitation with local campaigns and are trying to keep the party at the center as much as possible. They also explore what the party might look like after the election based on current polls and are confident that “no matter what the result” the party can be stopped from veering rightward into opposition.
Some senior figures are particularly worried about that of the party lack of appeal to young voterswhich was already evident but may have been exacerbated by policies such as the return of national service designed to appeal to older voters considering voting for UK reform.
With less than two weeks until Election Day, the party’s campaign morale has also taken a huge hit on two issues. First, the revelations of three people associated with the Conservatives Gambling Commission Inquiries for alleged betting related to the date of the election caused serious anger.
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With the candidates braced for further revelations, Sunak declined to reveal how many Tories are under investigation. The party said it would not “make ongoing comments”, but it led to ministers and candidates being asked about the investigation during the crucial final weeks of the campaign. Sunak said anyone found to have broken the rules “will not only face the full consequences of the law, but I will ensure they are kicked out of the Conservative Party”.
The second issue that hit morale was the reallocation of resources in Conservative campaign headquarters to defend safer seats that are apparently now considered marginal according to the latest poll. This has led to some internal concerns about abandoning parts of the so-called red wall taken over by Boris Johnson in 2019, although the charge is denied by the party.
Money is also said to be an issue. Some Tory candidates have said they have struggled for resources, while some regular donors have opted out of the 2024 contest. A fundraising event at London’s exclusive Hurlingham Club last week was held without the prime minister, who instead sent video message. The star of the night was Business Secretary Cammy Badenoch, seen as favorite for the leadership if the Tories collapse and win. Several major donors attended the event.
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