Nigel Farage believes this is a historic time in politics with Robert Jenrick joining Reform UK (Image: Getty Images)
Britons should unite behind Reform UK to fix “broken” Britain and defend Brexit, Nigel Farage has declared after Robert Jenrick's landmark defection from the Conservatives. The former Shadow Justice Secretary joining Reform UK will be seen in the years ahead as a historic moment which marks not a split but the “coming together of the Right”, Mr Farage told the Sunday Express.
The Reform leader set out the “fundamental” divide he sees in the country today: “Either you believe Britain is broken and needs radical change, or you believe – as Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch do – that Britain isn't broken.”
He claimed the key difference between Reform and the two traditional parties of power is: “They want to fiddle with the plumbing, and we think it needs a brand new boiler.”
Mrs Badenoch insisted on Saturday that “Britain is not broken” but is a “great country with deep reserves of strength, talent and resilience”.
But new Reform MP Mr Jenrick accused the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition of having their “heads in the sand” when it came to the true state of the nation, telling the Express: “Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch think that Britain isn't broken. They've got their heads in the sand.
“They should get out more and see what's really happening. Brits are hard up and have been for decades. NHS waiting lists remain obscenely high.
“Immigration is out of control and our borders have been blown open by small boats; 93% of crime goes unsolved and our prisons are overflowing.
“Our defenses have been hollowed out just as the world is becoming more dangerous. If you agree with me that Britain is broken and things need to change, you should join Reform.”
Read more: Robert Jenrick's defection is a huge game-changer for Nigel Farage and Reform
Read more: 'I was in the room for Jenrick's wild Reform defection – Farage was loving it'
Britain's departure from the European Union was a delight for Nigel Farage (Image: Getty)
With the country nearing the 10th anniversary of the historic vote to leave the European Union and Sir Keir Starmer under Labor pressure to deepen ties with Brussels, Mr Farage urged Brexit supporters to come together behind his party.
The veteran Brexiteer – who campaigned for a Leave vote when it was opposed by then-Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne – said: “The Conservative party opposed Brexit in tooth and claw. The Conservative party told us we'd end up living in caves if we voted for Brexit. The Conservative party [was in] Government and did not deliver it. When they finally did, they opened up the borders”.
The Reform leader expects the results of the May 7 local government and Welsh and Scottish parliament elections will determine whether Mrs Badenoch leads the Tories into the next general election.
“Kemi's future as Conservative leader rests on May 7,” he said
He has issued an ultimatum to potential defectors to come across ahead of this date.
He explained: “I've said, 'Look – if you're going to do it, come before May 7, put your shoulder to the wheel, give us a hand. After that, we won't be interested… I don't want to live with months and months of constant speculation. [about] who might or might not come. If they believe we are the answer, if they agree with us that Britain is broken, if they agree with us it needs radical change, they need to come and help us succeed on May 7, not ride on our coattails.”
When asked whether other shadow cabinet ministers have discussed leaving Reform for the Conservatives, he said: “There are a lot of people in the Conservative movement at all levels seriously questioning what the future holds.'
Nigel Farage wants to reach out to former Labor voters – and those who have not voted (Image: Getty)
Mr Farage is alert to concerns that splitting the Right-wing vote could allow a Left-wing government to take power. But he argues that Mr Jenrick's arrival in the Reform fold is an important moment of unity.
He said: “Rob was the cheerleader of the centre-right in the Conservative party [and] the most popular Conservative politician among their own members and supporters, and him coming to us marks a very, very significant moment. And I believe it was the coming together of the Right, not a split.”
He predicted that “in years to come we'll look back on that day as being very, very significant in shaping British politics.”
His attention is not focused solely on winning over traditional conservative voters. He plans to double-down on efforts to bring in people who have supported Labor in the past.
Working people, he said, have felt the impact of years of mass migration and the pursuit of net zero energy policies, as well as being hit by Chancellor Rachel Reeves's tax hikes and left feeling “you might as well just live on benefits”.
“I think these are things that affect many Labor voters and make many of them very angry,” he said.
Mr Farage claims the “Conservatives themselves did much to break” Britain and “they know it”.
“Whatever they say about the Chinese embassy, about net zero, about the boats, their own record is disastrous on all these things and they cannot be trusted,” he said. “That's their biggest weakness.”
In a video message, Mr Farage said: “Reform has emerged at the end of this week much stronger than it went into it. The Conservative party is dying before your eyes and the hysterical attacks upon us are because they know the end is nigh.”
Summing up his pitch to Sunday Express readers, he said: “There is only one party that can beat Labor at the election and that's Reform.”
Dame Penny Mordaunt says the Tories did the hard work to make Brexit a reality (Image: Getty)
Former Defense Secretary Dame Penny Mordaunt said she had no intention of following Mr Jenrick to Reform UK and defended the Conservative record on Brexit.
She said: “As one of those rare Brexiteers, who actually campaigned and voted for Brexit, I'm sticking with the party that got us out of the EU and is doing the hard and dry work to capitalize on the opportunities.”
A Tory Right-winger doubted that Mr Farage would stop them joining his party after the May elections deadline.
The MP said: “Are you telling me if [five of us] all concluded at the back end of the year 'It's done' and wanted to be announced at their conference, he'd say no?”