Lee Anderson has warned that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could “pick off” a lot of Conservative MPs and open the door for a Labour landslide.
The Tory deputy chairman said Mr Farage’s party, formerly the Brexit Party, is a “threat”, adding that they are a “bigger threat to the country at the moment than the Labour Party”.
Reform, which will set out its stall to voters at a press conference in London on Wednesday, could split the vote in tens of Tory seats, adding the scale of a potential Labour election win.
Lee Anderson compared the government to the ‘band on the Titanic’, leaked WhatsApps revealed last year— (CHP)
It has vowed to fight the Tories across the country and leader Richard Tice, who took the reins from Mr Farage in 2021, has vowed to have a “massive impact” on the coming election.
It has already helped to derail two key Tory by-election campaigns, with its share of the vote in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth bigger than Labour’s majorities in the seats.
And in a sign of growing Tory unease at the party’s growth, with a 9 per cent poll rating, outspoken deputy chairman Mr Anderson said: “They are a threat.”
He told GB News: “I’ve got a lot of time for Nigel [Farage]…he’s doing fantastic things but Reform are a threat.
Nigel Farage returning from a stint on I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here— (PA)
“If Reform do pick off a lot of us Conservative MPs at the next election, then what’s going to happen is we’re going to end up with a Labour government, and a Labour government is the last thing I want.”
Mr Anderson went on to claim that a Labour government would drag Britain back into the European Union despite Sir Keir Starmer having ruled out rejoining the bloc.
Reform’s much-vaunted press conference could bring clarity on Mr Farage’s role in the party ahead of an election later this year.
It is not known whether he will return as the leader of the party, which he set up and controls, or whether he may return in a campaigning role.
There is also speculation Mr Farage could make his eighth run for a seat in parliament.
Any return to frontline politics by Mr Farage would be seen as a further blow to the Tories’ electoral hopes. Growing discontent among voters about soaring net migration and Rishi Sunak’s failure to “stop the boats” has opened the door for Mr Farage to attack the Tories from the right.
On Tuesday Mr Farage responded to the government’s attempts to “rush through” the backlog of asylum seekers by saying: “The Conservatives have failed us all.”
A week earlier he attacked home secretary James Cleverly, branding him a “moron” for celebrating the lack of small boat crossings on Christmas day.
He added that the Conservatives “all deserve to lose your seats at the election”.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice rejected the claim by Lee Anderson (Jonathan Brady/PA)— (PA Archive)
Mr Anderson said he “failed to see” where Reform could win any seats, but accepted voters frustrated with the Tories over migration could flock to the party in their millions.
He added: “I will say this, it’s - I’m not saying they’re a one-man party, but he is the figurehead is Nigel, he does a great job but I think if they want any inroads, then he has to stand.
“He has to be the leader of the party. He has to stand in the election, because I mean, Richard Tice, I’ve got a lot of time for Richard, but knock on doors in Ashfield and nobody’s ever heard of him.”
