NIGEL Farage today put his Reform troops on notice for an early general election following the departure of Angela Rayner.
The party leader told thousands of his supporters gathered in Birmingham to prepare for a poll in 2027 rather than 2029 when one is due.
GettyNigel Farage opened Reform conference today[/caption]
PAMr Farage addressing the masses[/caption]
He said Ms Rayner’s ousting could trigger a Labour civil war if their left-wingers start agitating or jumping ship to Jeremy Corbyn’s new movement.
Mr Farage whipped the Reform grassroots into a frenzy this morning as he swept onto the conference stage with booming music and pyrotechnics.
He brought his speech forward by three hours to react to Ms Rayner’s humiliating departure as deputy PM and deputy Labour leader to capitalise on the government’s woes.
Blasting her as “entitled”, Mr Farage said: “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.
“So, in the last few minutes, Angela Rayner has gone, but not just as Housing Secretary.
“Now, more significantly, she’s gone as deputy leader of the Labour party and Deputy Prime Minister.
“That means there will be an internal election within the Labour party, and you’re going to see the hard left of Labour shouting very, very loudly for the last few years, the story has been splits within the Conservative Party.
“Mark my words: Within weeks, it’ll be splits within the Labour party.”
He added: “It screams to a government that despite all the promises that this would be a new, different kind of politics is as bad – if not worse – than the one that went before.”
He told his legions of followers to go back to their constituencies and prepare for a general election in 2027.
Reform went into its two-day conference in Birmingham with a 10-point lead in the polls through its hardline stance on migration and crime.
To thunderous applause, Mr Farage said: “In the middle of this meltdown of these two parties that have dominated for a hundred years of British politics, in the middle of all this there is a new strong unified party that speaks with one voice.
“That knows it’s determined to put the interests of Britain, British people, above that of outdated international treaties or dubious courts.
“We are a patriotic party, we are the party that stands up for decent working people and we are the party on the rise.”
On the eve of the get-together, former Tory Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries was unveiled as the latest defector.
The former Culture Secretary and ally of Boris Johnson declared “the Tory party is dead” as she vowed to help pave the way to Downing Street for Nigel Farage.
Following months of secret negotiations, Ms Dorries told the Daily Mail: “Conservative members now need to think the unthinkable and look to the future.”
The acclaimed author, who has never been fond of Kemi Badenoch, spent three decades as a Tory member.
While her disgruntled position on the Conservative leader is well known, the move is still another hammer blow to the struggling party, which continues to tank in the polls.
Mr Farage welcomed the move on the eve of a major weekend for his movement.
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