NIGEL Farage yesterday vowed to stop migrant boats crossing the Channel “within two weeks” if he gets to be Prime Minister.
The Reform UK leader also told supporters at the party conference in Birmingham to prepare for an early General Election in 2027 as the Labour Government struggles.
ReutersReform UK chief Nigel Farage told supporters gathered in Birmingham to prepare for an early general election in 2027 as the government struggles[/caption]
PAFarage yesterday vowed to stop the boats ‘within two weeks’ if he is ever made PM[/caption]
GettySwathes of ex Tories also joined the event, including defecting ex-Culture Secretary and top Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries[/caption]
To whoops and cheers, he predicted that Angela Rayner’s resignation could trigger a Labour civil war, splintering the party and bringing forward the 2029 poll date.
He let rip after walking on to the conference stage in front of 6,000 supporters against a backdrop of booming music and pyrotechnics.
We will detain and deport those who illegally break into our country like every normal country does
Farage
And just as Sir Keir Starmer was grappling with a cabinet crisis at No10, Mr Farage pledged action.
He told party members: “We will deport foreign criminals. We will stop what is a threat to our national security, what is a danger to girls and women on our streets.”
Mr Farage added: “We will stop the boats and we will detain and deport those who illegally break into our country doing what nearly every normal country around the rest of the world does.”
He went on: “You cannot come here illegally and stay. We will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
Turning to the drama engulfing Labour, Mr Farage claimed a civil war was set to erupt on the left.
He argued Marxist-inclined MPs will defy any bid by PM Sir Keir to form a centrist vision for Britain.
Instead, Mr Farage insisted, the left will implode into factions, paving the way for sectarian politicians obsessed with Palestine to rise.
He told the Reform faithful: “I think if there is one really big message from me to this conference, it is that before long, there will be Labour MPs that reckon they’ve got a better chance on the Jeremy Corbyn sectarian ticket.
“We have sectarian politics emerging. I loathe it. I loathe it.
“But there will come a point when many MPs think they’ve got a better chance of being re-elected under that ticket under Corbyn than they do under Sir Keir.”
We will stop what is a threat to our national security, what is a danger to girls and women on our streets
Farage
Turning attention to ex-Labour No2 Ms Rayner, he added: “It was inevitable, wasn’t it? Really, you can’t be Housing Secretary and avoid £40,000 worth of stamp duty. It’s just as simple as that.”
Away from the turquoise-clad crowds, senior advisors to Mr Farage rejoiced at the Ashton-under-Lyne MP’s downfall.
They privately said that a Labour Party under the more charismatic former Deputy PM would have been a more challenging prospect than a fight against Sir Keir.
Zia: We’ll put Brits first
REFORM will put British people first and end their treatment as “second-class citizens” in the country, Zia Yusuf has pledged.
The party’s new Head of Policy said the rights of people with UK passports had been superseded.
He said: “I see a Britain which puts British people first. This is no pipe dream. This is now truly on the cards.”
He said he wanted to end an era “in which those who played by the rules their whole lives are robbed by the state to pay for those who break them”.
In his speech at the conference, Mr Yusuf, already the party’s efficiency chief, added: “It’s time for us to stand up and write the next chapter in our great country’s story.
“It’s time to put the needs, the hopes, the dreams of British people first.”
He added that Reform will be ready if an early election is called.
He said: “The era of British decline will soon be at an end.”
Reform went into its two-day conference in Britain’s second city with a ten-point poll lead through its stance on migration and crime..
In a move to look serious about winning No10, Mr Farage yesterday announced a new Department for Preparing for Government.
At one point, he broke off from his delivery to introduce former Conservative culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who defected to Reform on Thursday night.
When Nigel is Prime Minister, there will not be a judge in the country that will be able to prevent a single deportation flight from leaving
Zia Yusuf
He also revealed that Zia Yusuf, who leads Reform’s waste-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, will take on the additional role of Head of Policy.
In his conference address, Mr Yusuf said: “We are on the brink of ending a tragic era in this country’s history, an era in which British people have been made second-class citizens in their own country.
“Our plan is the only appropriate response to a national security emergency. It will also immediately stop the boats from coming by sending a clear message — that being in our country illegally now has an iron-clad consequence, immediate removal.”
Mr Yusuf added: “When Nigel is Prime Minister, there will not be a judge in the country that will be able to prevent a single deportation flight from leaving.”
PAReform went into its two-day conference in Birmingham with a 10-point lead in the polls through its hardliner stance on migration and crime[/caption]
AFPMayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns speaking at the event[/caption]
Also appearing on stage was Reform UK’s Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
She appeared in a blue sequinned jumpsuit and belted out her self-penned song Insomniac.
She said: “Are this awful Labour government giving you sleepless nights as well?”
On a local level, Reform’s Leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran, announced the authority would “undeclare a climate emergency” announced in 2019 to make £30million in net zero savings.
She said: “It no longer exists in Kent, and by undeclaring the climate emergency that means we can take out all the net zero commitments written into the constitution.”
Reform’s conference also was marked by MP defection announcements and the odd celebrity appearance.
Heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora was spotted wandering among the crowd, as was comedian Jim Davidson.
Swathes of former Tories also joined the event.
Responding to day one of the conference, Labour said: “Nigel Farage could have used his conference speech to offer more than just anger without answers and to say more than just ‘don’t know’ to the problems facing the country.
“He didn’t. It was the same old parade of complaints we’ve heard before. His answer to the charge that Reform is a one-man band was to unveil one of the faces of Tory failure from the last Tory Government, Nadine Dorries.”
The spokesman added: “Farage has proven again he’s incapable of acting in the best interests of Britain.”
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride accused Reform of “peddling Jeremy Corbyn-style economics”, particularly over pledges to restore winter fuel payments and scrap the two-child benefit cap.
Mr Stride said: “Reform and Labour are two sides of the same coin, meaning higher taxes, higher borrowing and higher debt. No wonder there was no mention of debt or the deficit in Nigel Farage’s speech.”
Leader getting serious
By Jack Elsom
THROUGHOUT his political career Nigel Farage has battled to be taken seriously.
Even during his pomp at UKIP and the Brexit Party he was ridiculed as a fringe eccentric.
But — to use his own immortal line — they’re not laughing now.
Reform is leading the polls by a mile and Farage is odds-on to sweep into No10.
Despite this, he is well aware of the many pitfalls that litter the path to Downing Street.
Aside from the theatrics during yesterday’s speech, Farage was keen to show the public he is a serious candidate for prime minister.
This included a pledge to create a Department for Preparing for Government, so that “when we win, we can hit the ground running”.
He was frank about the lack of government experience, which is one of the reasons why he accepted ex-Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries as a defector despite her friendship with Boris Johnson.
And he is upfront about wanting to adopt American-style government where ministers are not just drawn from the crop of MPs but are also captains of industry.
The conference is an exercise in dispelling the criticism that Farage is a one-man band, with stage time to showcase their young lights.
But in truth it is still Nigel who is the political rock star worshipped by those in Birmingham.
Pulling in the fans has never been his problem, it is getting the rest to put their crosses in his box
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