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Nigel Farage has declared himself as the “new opposition” following a groundbreaking YouGov poll that put Reform ahead of the Conservatives for the first time in history.
Speaking during a press conference in London, the party leader called Sir Keir Starmer to go on a head-to-head televised debate to challenge his policies on migration.
With only three weeks before election day, the prime minister insisted the Conservatives will not come third at the general election and said they are “still fighting hard fore every vote”.
Speaking from Italy where is attending the G7 leaders summit, Mr Sunak warned people against voting for Nigel Farage’s party as they will make Labour win and hand Sir Keir Starmer a “blank cheque”.
It comes as Mr Farage claimed that postal ballot is open to fraud and intimidation adding “it happens in this country all the time” while he was quizzed by callers on BBC’s 5 Live. But the Electoral Commission has said that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the UK.
Reform UK press conference has now ended
Here are the top lines from what Nigel Farage said:
- Mr Farage has declared Reform UK the new “opposition” after their leading YouGov poll result over the Tories.
- He has challenged Sir Keir Starmer to go face to face on a televised debate.
- The Reform leader refused to say how many seats he would like to win but claimed they are going to get “very substantial number of votes” at the general election.
- He said the Conservative party “will not be in power for a decade, maybe more” and they are “finished”.
- Mr Farage claimed Reform is a “long-term” project that is “building of a big movement” ready for the next general election in 2029.
Watch: Reform party unveils five-minute political broadcast and it has no sound
Watch: Reform party unveils five-minute political broadcast and it has no sound
Reform UK unveiled their party political broadcast on Thursday night (13 June) with no audio and the same six words on-screen for four minutes. The text read: “Britain is Broken. Britain Needs Reform.” Reform leader Nigel Farage tweeted the same video, reassuring those who watched the broadcast that their “TV isn’t broken”. The message aired on the same evening that a new YouGov poll suggested the party has overtaken the Conservatives for the first time ahead of next month’s general election. In the survey, Reform were put on 19 per cent, ahead of the Tories on 18 per cent. Labour remained top on 37 per cent.
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Full report:
‘Starmer should take up Farage on debate,’ ex-No 10 pollster says
A former head of polling at No 10 has said that Sir Keir Starmer should accept Nigel Farage’s demand to go on a head to head debate before the general election.
James Johnson, who worked for Theresa May, said: “Usually these things are just noise – and [this also] probably will be – but if Starmer really wants a Tory wipeout, he should definitely take up the invitation.
“Making the race Labour vs Farage hugely benefits both of them as it squeezes the Tories out further.”
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The move could see the Labour leader heading up new groups designed to cut through civil service silos and delays.
Full report:
Tories claim Labour plans tax raid on home sales in ‘desperate’ bid to change election fortunes
Farage says the seat he’s standing for ‘can be easily forgotten’
Nigel Farage said Clacton can be “easily forgotten” when asked about his election prospects in the Essex seat.
Asked what he would do for the constituency, the Reform UK leader said: “Do what I do and have done for many, many years, when I was an MEP. If I write a letter to banks, or authorities, for people or constituents who have problems, they generally jump up and start to do things.
“So, I do think I can be a champion for local people who have got problems with, you know, running their own business or whatever it is, and I can do that for them.
“But you know something? Clacton isn’t the end of the line. It’s the terminus. It can be easily forgotten.”
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Full report:
Farage: I did more than anybody else to destroy BNP
Nigel Farage claimed he had done more than anybody else to “destroy” the British National Party as an electoral force.
Responding to a question comparing his party to the right-wing German AfD, Mr Farage said: “In my previous incarnation as leader of Ukip, I had an absolute rule that nobody who’d ever been part of the British National Party or any organisation like that could even be a member of the party, let alone a candidate, and I was absolutely ruthless about that.
“I think because I did that, I would honestly say to you I did more to destroy the British National Party as an electoral force in Britain than absolutely anybody else, and the same thing applies this time.
“Of course, because it’s been a very rapidly called election, and because 450 of our candidates have never stood before, they’re not politicos, they would have liked things on Facebook with links to somebody else, it doesn’t make them extreme right or far right.
“I don’t want support from people like that. I’ve never had the support or worked with people like that. I never will support people like that. I am acutely aware of the problem. We are in a better place with all of that than the AfD.
“And, yes, of course, we are going to have our problems with candidates, as every party is, with a very, very rushed election.”
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2024-06-14 13:15:28Z
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