Prime Minister Nigel Farage? Reform UK Leader Reveals Plan For Power By 2029

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Nigel Farage’s battle to destroy/merge with/lead the Conservatives enters its next phase this afternoon as the Reform chieftain launches his party’s election manifesto.

Farage, together with his predecessor Richard Tice and the Reform faithful, descends on south Wales today with a raft of policy proposals, comprising his “contract with the people”. (Farage reckons the very word “manifesto” connotes broken promises and deceit).

Reform’s “contract” then — the epitome of Farage’s anti-politics pitch this election — will serve as a fresh reminder of the danger the party poses to Rishi Sunak.

Speaking at the manifesto launch, Farage will attack what he sees as the failings of the Labour administration in Cardiff Bay on schools and the NHS, as well as over 20 mph speed limits. But his primary message is that, in Wales, the Conservatives have not provided the requisite opposition to Labour.

Reform, Farage is set to declare, would do a far better job.

The manifesto launch comes hot on the heels of Reform’s first “crossover” poll last week, which saw the upstart party leapfrog the Conservatives in a single survey. This symbolic YouGov poll for The Times, published on Thursday, placed Reform on 19 per cent — one point ahead of the Conservatives on 18 per cent. Labour, for what it’s worth, was still in the lead on 37 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats were down one point at 14 per cent.

On Friday, in a hastily arranged “crossover” presser, Farage declared himself the real “leader of the opposition” and beckoned wavering Conservative voters to “join the revolt”. “What have you got to lose?”, he added.

It’s a potent message that Farage repeats today in an op-ed for the Conservative Home website — true Tory territory indeed. The last time Farage penned a piece for Conservative Home was on the 16th of May 2014, over ten years ago. Then, just a week later on 22nd May, UKIP emerged as the largest party in the UK European parliament elections, relegating the Conservatives to third place.

The bleak omens keep coming for Rishi Sunak.

But Farage’s ambitions don’t end with merely beating the Conservatives on 4th July. Rather, in an interview with the BBC’s Today programme this morning, Farage outlined his plan to use the election as a springboard to fight to be prime minister at the next national contest in 2029. “Yes, absolutely”, Farage replied when asked he if is vying to be PM at the election after next.

Reform’s manifesto launch today, therefore, is another opportunity for Farage to steal the media spotlight from the Conservatives as he outlines a raft of measures designed to keep up the pressure on Sunak.

As such, some of the policies we can expect Reform to announce today include: a tax on businesses who employ overseas workers; a plan for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights; the abolition of the TV licence fee; as well as House of Lords and electoral reform.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is campaigning in east Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the East of England today — with a focus on energy policy. The prime minister plans to attack Labour’s energy policy, claiming the party’s proposals for oil and gas would create a £4.5 billion budget black hole in lost tax revenues.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is in Hampshire to kick off a week of campaigning focussed heavily on the economy. Earlier today, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told a group of business leaders a “pro-business” Labour would hold a global investment summit in the first 100 days of entering government.

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