Lord Cameron accuses Nigel Farage of ‘trying to destroy Conservative Party’
Lord Cameron becomes latest Tory politician to launch attack on Nigel Farage - TAYFUN SALCI/ZUMA PRESS WIRE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Lord Cameron has accused Nigel Farage of “trying to destroy the Conservative Party by standing for Reform”.
The Foreign Secretary said he does not want to see any Reform Members of Parliament, adding that he wants the Conservative Party to “move forward.”
His remarks came after Reform this week overtook the Tories in a poll for the first time. A YouGov survey put Mr Farage’s party on 19 per cent, ahead of the Conservatives on 18 per cent. Labour remained far ahead of both parties on 37 per cent.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Cameron also accused Mr Farage of being “incredibly divisive” in his language on immigration.
“Don’t forget Enoch Powell stopped Britain talking about immigration for 20 to 30 years,” he said. “I think with these populists what you get is inflammatory language and hopeless policy.”
The former prime minister also criticised Labour for planning a tax raid if they win the election on July 4.
“There’s nothing here apart from a bunch of spending plans that would mean higher taxes,” he said.
He issued an implicit rebuke of Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, after she described Rishi Sunak’s decision to leave last week’s D-Day commemorations early as “completely unacceptable”. Lord Cameron said: “I choose my words carefully.”
Lord Cameron is the latest senior member of the Cabinet to launch an attack on Mr Farage.
Nigel Farage said he would not lead the Tories as it 'currently is' but would lead a Conservative-Reform coalition - MARTYN WHEATLEY/PARSONS MEDIA
He joins Kemi Badenoch, the Trade Secretary, who said people should be working on strengthening the party, not trying to destroy it.
Earlier this month she said: “Nigel Farage is still against many Conservatives, including some of my colleagues. What he wants to do is destroy the Conservative Party.
“The Conservative Party is an institution; it is the longest-running party in the history of the world. I think that what we should be talking about is how to make sure it keeps going from strength to strength, not trashing it, destroying it, or taking it over.”
Mr Farage has said he would be willing to lead a merged Reform-Conservative party.
The Reform party leader said he could not lead the Tories as it “currently is”, but predicted a new party is likely to emerge after the general election.
Asked earlier this week if he could rule out leading the Conservative Party one day, Mr Farage told LBC: “I think something new is going to emerge on the centre-Right, I don’t know what it is called.
“But do I think I am capable of leading a national opposition to a Labour Party with a big majority where I can stand up and hold them to account on issues? Yes.”
Asked if he would be happy to lead a merged party, he replied: “Yes.”
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