There is no flaw in the scale of Reform UK’s ambition – but how much does it really matter?
The proposed policies will cost a staggering £141 billion a year – around thirty times the size of Labor plans10 times the amount of additional spending proposed by the Conservatives and more than three times Liz Truss’ ambition.
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Energy companies would be partially nationalized in Reformation Britain, while somehow finding 30,000 new permanent members of the armed forces and increasing the initial rate of income tax to £20,000.
But there is a serious question about whether the 24-page contract is worth the paper it is written on.
This is no particular slight to Reform UK: this is the same issue faced by the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and even the Conservatives.
With little chance of Downing Street attracting its respective leaders, why spend so much time on policies that will never be used?
In fact, Nigel Farage, the party leader, is admirably sincere – there is no expectation of victory next month and therefore he claims that these ideas they are a plan for the 2029 elections.
Farage is keeping an eye on five years of Reform in the UK showing its mettle in opposition to both the expected Labor government and what Farage hopes will be an empty Conservative Party.
That’s the statement – right now.
But there are even more questions awaiting Farage – for now the Tories’ tormentor-in-chief – after the 4th of July.
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There is a dispute within the Conservatives over whether Farage should be admitted to the party in the event of a defeat on the other side of the election.
Without him even asking to join the group, Rishi Sunak’s potential successors are split on whether to give Farage the green light to join.
Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick are in favor, while Priti Patel, Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly are against.
Boris Johnson, who could play the role of kingmaker in the party’s next leadership election, was preparing to suggest that Farage should be reinstated, assuming the former UKIP leader sat out the election.
However, the vehemence with which Farage is pursuing the Conservatives in these elections appears to be leading the former Conservative leader to oppose his reinstatement.
Note how one of the critical weather vanes on the issue has apparently changed its position in recent weeks.
All of this leaves aside Farage’s own wishes on the matter.
He has turned the Conservative implosion into a weapon and his main argument in this election is that the Conservative Party is exhausted and needs to be replaced.
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Farage is keeping his options open
However, this is harder than it seems, even for Farage.
The first move to the mail-in voting system makes it virtually impossible for Reform to make major advances in some elections, no matter how decadent the main parties may appear.
Current projections put Reform UK in just over half a dozen seats at best, and there is some doubt that Farage will easily win the Clacton seat in Essex.
So if Farage is serious about leading a movement, is either Reform really the right vehicle for it, or is a failed Conservative Party a better host for his ambition, given that there is a chance members could elect him as leader if Will he ever come down to the last two candidates in a race to run the party?
That’s why today I pressed him repeatedly on whether he would rule out switching to the Conservatives after the election if he won his seat.
Will Farage join the Tories?
He could not have been more elliptical: he said he didn’t know what he would eat in five years, called the question “idiotic” and said he had no intention of joining the Tories, but repeatedly refused to give a more categorical answer.
There must be a reason why he avoided the question so many times.
The most obvious of these is that he did not genuinely rule out the possibility, depending on the success or otherwise of Reform UK and the composition of the Conservative parliamentary party after 5 July.
Farage had consequences for our politics for more than a decade, in part because he had clear goals.
But today he kept his options open, and this time, it’s less clear where he’s headed.
He will be one of the biggest figures to watch the day after the election.
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The other candidates in Clacton against Nigel Farage for Reform UK are:
• Matthew Bensilum, Liberal Democrats
• Craig Jamieson, Climate Party
• Tony Mack, independent
• Natasha Osben, Green Party
• Jovan Owusu-Nepaul, Labor Party
• Tasos Papanastasiou, Heritage Festival
• Andrew Pemberton, UKIP
• Giles Watling, Conservative Party
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
