Nigel Farage sets sights on being thorn in Labour’s side after UK election

TAKING ON THE CONSERVATIVES

Farage has long aimed to smash up the status quo in British politics, and he hopes to use parliament as a platform just as he used the European Parliament to promote his eurosceptic views when he served in the assembly from 1999 for two decades.

His surprise about-turn on Jun 3 to enter the British election race as the leader of Reform threw the Conservatives into panic. Until then, most had discounted the party’s candidates as little more than a headache.

Such is the state of the Conservatives – divided after 14 years in power and forecast to lose badly at the election – that some have said Farage could take it over and one day become a Conservative prime minister.

He does not rule it out, but says success for him would be seeing Reform, in five year’s time, being the catalyst for “a dramatic realignment of the centre-right of British politics”, something he believes the “silent majority” would want.

Farage was instrumental in the campaign to get Britain out of the European Union – meaning he is either loved or loathed in the country – and fear of his earlier party UKIP prompted the Conservatives to commit to the 2016 Brexit referendum.

He now looks to France and the success of Marine Le Pen’s far-right RN party in the first round of parliamentary elections and predicts she will become France’s president in 2027.

He says that while on economics the two parties are far apart – with her as big state, while he prefers reducing the regulatory burden – there are similarities.

“The similarities are culture. I mean, she believes in La France,” he said, adding that both she and he stood up for people against political elites.

Farage says unless any new arrivals to Britain are genuine refugees, they should not get any benefits or free health care for five years. On social housing, he says many Britons feel disadvantaged in getting on waiting lists.

Farage is focusing on “family, community, country” and aims to make Reform the main voice of opposition to an expected Labour government led by Keir Starmer and then a mass movement.

“Are the Conservatives going to provide any opposition? They seem to hate each other, they’re split down the middle,” he said.

“For us, this isn’t just about what happens in Westminster. It’s about building this broader movement across the country.”