The Moment the Tories Have Long Dreaded Is Finally Upon Them
- Conservatives fear Farage’s Reform UK will pass them in polls
- Sunak’s strategy in disarray after D-Day gaffe, Farage’s entry
The governing Conservatives were stunned on Monday when Brexit architect Nigel Farage said he would stand as a candidate for his Reform UK party in the election.
Photographer: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images
Rishi Sunak’s unlikely bid to remain UK prime minister after July 4 appears in tatters after a week bookended by crises: one he thought he’d avoided but the other destined to go down as an historic self-inflicted blunder.
The governing Conservatives were stunned on Monday when Brexit architect Nigel Farage said he would stand as a candidate for his Reform UK party in the election. Thinking Farage was out of the picture, Sunak’s Tories had built a campaign strategy to rally the right-wing vote that was tempted by Reform. Days after Farage’s entry, polls suggest Reform is gaining ground — and hurting Sunak’s chances of keeping Labour leader Keir Starmer from power.