Reform UK seeing ‘surge’ in support that carried Geert Wilders to power

Reform UK’s leader Richard Tice has said his party is enjoying the same “surge” of support that carried Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration Freedom Party to electoral success in the Netherlands.

The insurgent Brexit-backing party, which is currently ahead of the Lib Dems in the polls, has doubled its support compared to what it was last year and now Mr Tice has the Tories firmly in his sights.

He told Express.co.uk that he believes Reform may climb even higher than its current polling position of 10 percent. He said: “I can reasonably see how we could be polling in the mid-teens within a few months… and that the Tories will dip below 20 percent and that’s going to make a fascinating General Election.”

Asked whether Reform could actually usurp the Conservatives and become the second largest party, Mr Tice said: “Oh I think that’s absolutely possible given the chaos that we’re seeing at the moment, and that’s the opportunity. If Nigel [Farage] wants to put his shoulder behind the wheel then who knows, the world’s our oyster so let’s wait and see.

“But if that sort of thing starts to happen the likelihood of defections [from the Conservatives] will of course increase because they will see that they’re toast under this useless Tory Party.”

READ MORE Dutch election earthquake sends UK signal – ‘fed up’ voters are losing patience

With Reform on a sharp upward tilt in the polls, the disruptive party can take heart from the electoral success of European counterparts in recent years. None more so than Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party.

According to Politico’s Poll of Polls, Mr Wilders’ right-wing party shot-up by more than ten points in the weeks running up to the Dutch General Election – from around 14 percent to around 24 percent – with voters seduced by his anti-immigration, Eurosceptic message.

Arch-Brexiteer Mr Tice is hopeful his party can ride a similar wave.

Quizzed on whether he could see polling comparisons between his movement and Mr Wilders’ party, the politician-cum-GB News host said his party has “already seen a surge and hopefully that will continue”.

Meanwhile Mr Tice has dropped the freshest hint yet that MPs on the Tory Right may be poised to defect to his insurgent party.

Speaking to this website, the ex-business tycoon remained tight-lipped on which names may be set to join Reform but he did say there is a slew of Tories who “don’t recognise” their own party under the stewardship of Rishi Sunak.

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Asked whether his party had courted Suella Braverman, who has been taking potshots at the Prime Minister since departing the Home Office, Mr Tice told this website: “I’m not giving any confirmation about people that I have or haven’t spoken to or what those discussions are, but… let’s say there are a number of real Conservative MPs who don’t recognise the party they’re in – which is basically a party of social democrats and sort of semi-socialists.

“So you can see that you’ve got a party that is completely split and they are very clear that they’ve broken the country – they’ve been in charge for 13 years – and in any walk of life if someone consistently breaches the contract that they’ve been given then they have to be punished, they have to be fired.”

Despite holding the door ajar for any “real” Conservatives that want to defect, the 59-year-old was adamant that his party would not entertain a formal electoral pact with Mr Sunak’s party.

He said: “We’re not doing any deals with the Tories.

“If any, what I call people who agree with our principles and our values want to join us then obviously the more hands to the pump to help, great.”

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