Reform is not rescue charity for panicky Tory MPs, Farage says

"Nigel Farage has insisted Reform UK will not become "the Conservative Party 2.0" following the defection of former senior Tory Robert Jenrick. Writing in the Telegraph, the party's leader said Reform "is not a rescue charity for every panicky Tory MP" and any potential defectors would have to be prepared to admit publicly that the previous Conservative government "broke the country"."

""Any Conservative MP who still clings to the hope that their party can recover and waits until May 8 to try to leave the sinking ship does not understand how rapidly things are changing out in the country," he wrote in the Telegraph. "Trying to use Reform as a lifeboat to save their own political skins will not wash. We have no interest in rescuing political failures.""

Reform UK has attracted around 20 former Conservative MPs recently, including former minister Robert Jenrick. Nigel Farage says the party will not become a refuge for panicky Tories and will stop accepting defectors after local elections on 7 May. Any prospective defector must publicly admit the previous Conservative government 'broke the country' and embrace Reform's stated values of family, community and country. Deputy leader Richard Tice praised Jenrick's ministerial experience. Critics argue Reform is becoming a home for failed Tories, while the party says a well-known Labour figure may defect next week, with Baroness Kate Hoey rumoured.

Read at www.bbc.com