Rishi Sunak has suggested that Nigel Farage would be welcome inside the Conservatives – insisting his party was a “broad church”.
Former chancellor George Osborne has said it is “not inconceivable” that the former Ukip boss could be a future Tory leader because of the party’s shift to the right and frustration from the grassroots.
Mr Farage, currently on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, was feted by Tory members and seen dancing with former home secretary Priti Patel at the recent party conference.
Asked about Stanley Johnson’s plea for the Tories to “open their arms” to the ex-Brexit Party leader, Mr Sunak told reporters: “Our party has always been a broad church.”
The hard-right politician has also flirted with the idea of joining the Tories in recent weeks as he seeks to raise his profile again – saying “never say never”.
He also told his fellow I’m a Celeb contestants that it “depends how much mess the country gets in” when they asked him about trying to become PM.
Mr Farage quit the Tories in 1992 after John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty, which strengthened ties with the EU.
The remarks by Mr Sunak come as the latest BMG Research survey for the i shows that Reform UK is now third on 11 per cent – its best performance in any poll by the firm.
Delegates at the recent Tory conference pose with Nigel Farage— (AFP via Getty Images)
There is speculation that Mr Farage – founder of the re-incarnation of the Brexit Party – a could replace current leader Richard Tice when he gets out of the jungle
Asked earlier this month if Mr Farage could stage a comeback and lead the right-wing party, Mr Tice said: “Let’s wait and see.”
New JL Partners polling found that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is doing the most damage to Mr Sunak’s party, with one in six 2019 Tory voters switching to the right-wing party.
The major study also revealed Mr Sunak is now faring worse than Liz Truss with the wider electorate.
Just 59 per cent of voters who backed the Conservatives in 2019 under Boris Johnson are sticking with the party under Sunak, the report found.
That was down from 74 per cent last August and 63 per cent following Ms Truss’s disastrous “mini-budget” in September 2022.
An in-depth study by JL Partners found Mr Sunak has presided over a “year of decline” leading to an “implosion” in the Tory vote.
It will set alarm bells ringing in No 10, and comes as the ConservativeHome survey revealed Mr Sunak’s plummeting support among Tory grassroots.
Mr Sunak is now the least popular member of his cabinet, with an approval rating of -25.4, according to the latest online poll.
