In a clear sign of panic, former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has urged Rishi Sunak to cosy up to Reform, going as far as offering Nigel Farage a ministerial role in a potential future government.
Alarm Bells Ringing at Tory HQ
Having seen their popularity slide, culminating with disastrous results at recent local elections, the Tory party must be reaching a desperation point.
Reform Eating Into Tory Vote
The traditional Conservative vote has been split, and those who are further right on the political spectrum intend to vote for Reform.
Pact Helps Johnson Win
During the 2019 election, Reform (then known as the Brexit party) agreed to stand aside in Tory-held seats. The lack of competition helped Boris Johnson win a huge majority in the vote, perhaps giving some a false sense of his popularity.
Subsequent Tory Failings Hurting Popularity
The Brexit shambles alienated many on the further right of the Tory party. The lack of action on levelling up has pushed some red wall voters to Reform. The increase in immigration has made many lose confidence in the Tories, turning them into Reform voters.
Polling Shows Size of Change
Data from YouGov shows that 13% of people intend to vote for Reform and 18% for the Conservatives. In 2020, 1% intended to vote Reform, and 53% intended to vote Conservative.
The Scale of the Problem Causing Alarm
To address the Tories’ decline, Rees-Mogg has urged Sunak to make a “big, open and comprehensive offer to those in Reform.”
Rees-Mogg Wants to Drag Tories Further Right
Rees-Mogg urged the Tories to move to the right on his GB News show to appease the Brexiteers. He said: “The Conservative Party must represent these people, the very people who gave us, who lent us their support to give us an 80-seat majority in 2019.”
From the Biggest Party to a Desperate One
The dreadful running of the country over the last 14 years has seen the party that has dominated political power over the last century reduced to making deals with a smaller party to maintain any hope of survival.
Farage the Final Roll of the Dice
Whilst Farage enjoys popularity among right-wing voters, he is seen as divisive—almost comedic—at best. To offer a ministerial job to a man who has never won a parliamentary election in the UK would be an acceptance that the game was up.
Rees-Mogg Out of Touch
Suggesting such a thing gives you an idea of how out-of-touch Rees-Mogg is. Sure, his party is losing votes to the right, but that’s largely down to Tory incompetence, according to the polls. It’s not because they’re not right-wing enough.
Suggested Changes Make Tories Reform by Any Other Name
He said: “With the help of Nigel Farage in a Conservative government, as a Conservative minister, with Boris Johnson probably returning as Foreign Secretary as well welcoming the likes of Ben Habib and Richard Tice into our party, as well as pursuing genuinely conservative policies, winning the next election suddenly becomes well within reach.”
Cameron’s Centre-Right Approach Worked
The Tories have only maintained stability during the Cameron and Osborne years. Whilst not all of their decisions were popular, the nation wasn’t as split.
Johnson Viewed With Rose-Tinted Glasses
Whilst some might say Johnson was the peak of recent Tory power, the historical data shows the honeymoon of approval didn’t last long—within months, he was behind Labour in terms of voting intention, and since 2021, the Tories haven’t regained popularity—it has been a steady fall since.
Reform Rejects Redes Mogg’s Idea
Deputy leader Ben Habib said: “The problem I’ve got is that no matter what you say, your party doesn’t do what it promises. We’ve heard these promises for 14 years. Boris Johnson promised a lot of it.”
Reform Wants a Resurgent Tory Party
He continued: “We were promised all of this and we’ve been promised it again and again and I would like nothing more than to be put out of politics by a resurgent centre right, pro-British, pro-British people’s interest party that no longer necessitated people like me being in politics. I’m only here, frankly, because the Conservative Party hasn’t been conservative.”
Lib Dems Call Sunak ‘Weak’
Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “If the Prime Minister had any bottle, he would suspend the whip from Rees-Mogg and rule out Nigel Farage being allowed into the Conservative Party.”
Cooper Calls for General Election
She also said: “The public is sick to the back teeth of this endless Conservative soap opera as they watch the NHS crumble, filthy sewage pumped into their waterways and their mortgages spiral. Rishi Sunak should put us all out of our misery and call a General Election.”
Too Late in the Day to Save Tories
Social media comments suggest that Daisy Cooper is right and that many people simply see the government as a soap opera. Rees-Mogg has diagnosed that the Tories are losing votes to the right, but it’s more down to incompetence than anything else.
Too Little Delivered on Too Many Promises
If the Tories had delivered levelling up, reduced immigration, boosted the economy, supported the NHS, reduced the national debt, upgraded infrastructure and delivered HS2, they might not have lost so many of their voters. Offering a job to Farage won’t save that.
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