Farage could turbocharge Tice’s party as Sunak creates a vacuum

Rishi Sunak’s strategy to project competence has been to keep a low profile and get on with the job of being Prime Minister. But politics abhors a vacuum, and the lack of visibility from the new leader coupled with a sense of drift over the public sector strikes and immigration means Tory supporters are starting to vote with their feet.

David White has quit as the party’s South Yorkshire chairman to stand as a prospective MP for Reform UK at the next election.

“The Conservative Party has changed, being unable or unwilling to make the big decisions,” he said. “They are not in tune with the working people here in Barnsley.” The grassroots have been saddled with a leader in Mr Sunak they have not voted for and a Chancellor in Jeremy Hunt who has driven taxes up. It seems unbelievable that Central Office should think that now is the time to raise membership fees 56 per cent to £35, ending a 16-year freeze.

Justin Tomlinson MP – Conservative Party deputy chairman until July – said it was an “absolutely stupid idea” and John Strafford, who runs the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, said members were refusing to renew.

It is little surprise that many are falling into the arms of Reform UK, which emerged from the ashes of the Brexit Party after the 2019 general election. Richard Tice, the energetic leader, is in talks with more councillors and even Tory MPS about defecting.

Nigel Farage ran a similar operation when the UK Independence Party was causing headaches for David Cameron, then Tory leader, a decade ago. Reform UK has been polling at around 9 per cent for weeks as voters warmed to its offering of lower taxes, secure borders and cheaper energy. But how much more would the party be polling if Mr Farage put his career at GB News on ice and re-entered the political fray?

Luke Tryl, UK director of think-tank More in Common, tells Chopper’s Politics that Mr Farage’s return could turbocharge Reform.

“He adds something. When you test some Reform policies, they still poll reasonably well with that chunk of people but without that charismatic figurehead, it doesn’t quite push them over the top,” Mr Tryl said.

“There is a big pool of voters, and particularly those who were disillusioned with the Labour Party at the last election and moved to the Tories, who don’t feel the Tories have lived up to their promises and are now looking for something new. And that Farage party could be it.”