Speaking to Agência Lusa, Farage outlined a six-year plan to promote “right-wing reform” in the country, currently dominated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ‘Tories’ (conservatives).
Farage, the honorary leader of the British Reform Party (Reform UK) is planning the next steps, taking into account the victory of the Labor Party (the main force of the British opposition) in the general election on July 4, taking into account a 20 percentage point advantage in the polls.
In the short term, the politician hopes to be able to overcome Lee Anderson, who has defected from the Conservative Party, to face reform UK expectations, get elected and increase representation in the lower house of parliament.
“I don’t know how many, but we’re going to elect representatives,” he told Lusa.
The polls are not favorable. Currently voting intentions are around 12%, which according to analysts may not be enough to elect representatives.
Most recently, in May’s Assembly by-election, the Reformers came third in the Blackpool South constituency, siphoning some votes from the Conservatives.
Right-wing populist anti-immigration and environmental policies appeal to large numbers of voters in northern and central England.
A major challenge is the simple majority electoral system that favors the major parties.
Reform UK supporters want to move to a system of proportional representation, which gives smaller parties more opportunities.
Another big hurdle will be convincing voters not to listen to Rishi Sunak’s argument that voting for parties other than the Conservatives will help elect Labor leader Keir Starmer as prime minister.
Nigel Farage reckons that closer to the election, if the “conservatives realize they have no chance of winning”, they will give the reformers a chance.
Farage believes reform will make the UK “the voice of opposition to a Labor government over the next five years”.
The former MEP, who is seen as the mastermind behind the UK’s exit from the European Union, wants to take advantage of the instability within the Conservative Party to position himself as the right-wing opposition in parliament.
“I decided to change the name of the party after Brexit [do Brexit] For reform inspired by the Reform Party of Canada”, he told Lusa.
Canadian Reformers were instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Coalition in 2000 and the demise of the Progressive Conservative Party.
The latter two joined the current Canadian Conservative Party in 2003, which came to power three years later, in 2006, only to lose to current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in 2015.
After admitting he was open to “talking” to the Conservatives about reports in The Sun newspaper this week, Nigel Farage hit back and said he was being sarcastic.
In the United Kingdom, 650 seats in the House of Commons will be at stake in a general election called for May 22 by the Prime Minister, conservative Rishi Sunak, on July 4.
The Conservative Party has been in power since 2010.
