UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp warns Tory defectors that Reform UK is a one-man party under Nigel Farage, lacking credible plans.
As reported by The Telegraph, Chris Philp tells defectors like Danny Kruger that Reform has “only room for one star.”
What did Chris Philp say about Reform and Tory defectors?
A day before the Conservative Party conference, Chris Philp addresses concerns over leader Kemi Badenoch’s leadership and the party’s low poll ratings.
He slams Nigel Farage as a Putin apologist whose policies are drafted on the “back of a fag packet.”
Mr Philp predicts defectors will realise their mistake and rejoin the Conservative Party.
Speaking in Common’s office, he said,
“Reform is just a one-man band, and any time anyone looks like they might steal any of the limelight, he kicks them out, like Rupert Lowe.”
Mr Philip stated,
“Anyone who joins Reform will find pretty quickly there is only room for one star in that party, and that’s Nigel Farage. And unfortunately for Danny, he’s going to discover that pretty quickly.”
He sends a warning to Conservatives wanting to defect, saying,
“Slogans written in a pub on the back of a fag packet, which is what Nigel Farage offers, are not going to fix our country’s problems. If people want a party that has the resolve to fix these problems and has got a serious plan, that is only us.”
Mr Philip said,
“Reform are not a serious party, and people who’ve joined them may come to regret that.”
When asked if some might return to the Tories, he responded,
“I wouldn’t rule that out, because it will become clear over time – I’m not saying in the next week or the next month, but over time – that Reform is not a serious party.”
The Shadow Home Secretary cited Reform’s recent policy launch, where plans to end indefinite leave to remain excluded EU citizens, highlighting the party’s lack of seriousness.
He said,
“They come up with these slogans, which sound attractive, but they fall apart within like minutes of being announced.”
Mr Philip stated,
“I’m deeply troubled by the fact that Nigel Farage seems to be a Vladimir Putin apologist. He said he admired Putin, and at one point he said Putin had played a blinder in Syria by supporting a brutal dictator who used chemical weapons against his own people. As recently as last year, he said it was somehow Ukraine’s fault that Russia had invaded.”
What did Chris Philp say about Kemi Badenoch and party leadership?
Critics argue Kemi Badenoch’s leadership is holding the party back, suggesting a more dynamic leader could revive its fortunes.
Chris Philp, who supported her in last year’s leadership contest, comes out firmly in her defence.
He said,
“Leading the opposition following a really bad election defeat is probably the hardest job in politics, and back in 1975 like even Margaret Thatcher had to work hard. Those who criticise Kemi are not adequately appreciating just how difficult that job is.”
Mr Philip hopes a strong showing at the conference, supported by policy announcements, will demonstrate the Tories’ credibility over Reform.
Ms Badenoch announced plans to scrap the Climate Change Act and the 2050 net-zero target, drawing criticism from her predecessor, although Mr Philp disagreed.
The Shadow Cabinet gave the green light to Ms Badenoch’s plan to leave the European Convention on Human Rights.
Referring to ECHR, Mr Philip said,
“The time has come for the United Kingdom to leave the ECHR because it is preventing the democratically-elected parliament and government from doing what the public sent us here to do, which is to protect our borders, deport illegal immigrants and foreign criminals.”
He stated,
“The ECHR started off as quite a noble endeavour. It was designed to stop the repetition of the horrors of the Second World War.”
The shadow home secretary said,
“And if you read the actual articles, they are quite reasonable. But they’re also very vague, things like a ‘right to a family life’, and over the years, judges have stretched the meaning of what those articles in practice specify, to the point that it’s totally unrecognisable from the document that the original framers agreed.”
He added,
“So you’ve now got to the ridiculous situation where the people who are mostly protected by the ECHR are foreign criminals and illegal immigrants… It’s become, frankly, farcical when foreign criminals and illegal immigrants are the ones being protected, not British citizens.”
Mr Philp dismissed claims that leaving the ECHR would make Britain like Russia or Belarus, saying, “The UK has led the world in human rights.”
He also rejected claims that exiting the ECHR would stain Winston Churchill’s legacy, noting it was designed to prevent atrocities like the Holocaust, not protect foreign criminals.
The Shadow Home Secretary declined to give details on immigration policies but suggested the UK could follow President Donald Trump’s approach to mass deportations.
Mr Philip said,
“Neither what Australia did in 2013 nor what the USA has done in the last six or seven months would have been possible inside the ECHR,” adding, “We’ll have some more to say about that in the very, very near future. But clearly it is not acceptable for people who enter this country illegally or foreign criminals to stay here.”
Centrist Tories are concerned the party is moving too far right to out-Reform Reform, risking alienating moderate voters.
The shadow home secretary told party members,
“They have no reason to do that, because we’re not proposing to abolish human rights. There are plenty of ways that human rights get secured, in our common law, in our domestic legislation.”
What did Chris Philp say about Robert Jenrick and cabinet rivalries?
Chris Philp rejected Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick’s suggestion to block MPs who oppose leaving the ECHR, calling it a matter for the leader to decide.
He declined to comment on Mr Jenrick’s rising leadership ambitions and criticism that he is overstepping his role.
When questioned about a Cabinet rival, he insisted, “We are real colleagues working constructively together.”
As he heads to Manchester, Mr Philp urged the party to demonstrate a strong policy agenda to win public confidence.
He stated,
“I think we need to show we have a set of bold ideas that will fix our country’s problems, but bold ideas that are properly thought through. You’ve got a Labour government that is failing catastrophically: huge tax increases, economic growth declining, illegal immigration out of control.”
Mr Philip said,
“Reform has nothing to say on the economy: in fact they would actually make the economy worse by increasing welfare spending when we clearly can’t afford it. On immigration, while Reform have slogans, they don’t have substance.”
He added,
“What we have to demonstrate at this conference over the next few days is that we have substance. If we get to Wednesday lunchtime and the public have got that message, then we will have succeeded.”
What did Kemi Badenoch say about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights?
Kemi Badenoch confirmed plans to pull Britain out of the ECHR if her party takes power.
The decision signals a shift to the right for the Tories as they try to halt voter losses to Farage’s Reform UK.
The Tory leader’s move follows a review by Shadow Attorney General David Wolfson, which found the treaty limits government powers.
The Conservative Party stated,
“Unlike Reform UK, who have made slapdash announcements with no consideration of the implications and no plan to deliver behind them, the Conservatives have done the serious work to explore the legal and practical considerations necessary to leave the ECHR in an orderly manner.”
What did the YouGov poll show about Tory support and Reform UK?
Conservatives are lagging behind Mr Farage’s party by 10 points, according to last week’s YouGov survey showing 17% support.
The results could make Reform UK the largest party in the Commons, leaving the Tories in fourth with just 45 seats.