Tories who favour a "merger" with Reform should be watching this week's events. Farage does not share power. There is no world in which he's a loyal minister in a Tory cabinet. The only merger that works for him is one that he leads. Either they take him on, or he takes them over. - ThreadSky

robertsaunders.bsky.social • 58 days ago

Tories who favour a "merger" with Reform should be watching this week's events.

Farage does not share power. There is no world in which he's a loyal minister in a Tory cabinet.

The only merger that works for him is one that he leads.

Either they take him on, or he takes them over.

Comments

karenroberts.bsky.social•57 days ago

Particularly interesting given one of Lowe's "crimes" was to ask for the party to have a shadow cabinet & to discuss policy *before* it gets adopted by the party & announced to the press. I mean, how unreasonable for a party that reckons it could win the next election. 😂

mrbrownetc.bsky.social•57 days ago

Or they leave him alone and he reminds them he is a cancer on every level.

markkirby.bsky.social•57 days ago

And don't forget that Reform members do not get to vote on policy or elect the leader. Reform is a limited company whose majority shareholder is Nigel Farage. It is not a political party as normally understood.

robertsaunders.bsky.social•57 days ago

That's not quite right any more. Reform has adopted a new constitution, is registered as a political party and is no longer owned by Farage. However, its rules make it exceptionally difficult to challenge Farage for the leadership.

markkirby.bsky.social•57 days ago

That's interesting. I wonder if that is what facilitated the current in-fighting.

robertsaunders.bsky.social•57 days ago

Farage's parties have always been prone to infighting: he attracts big egos who see themselves as "mavericks", who don't like party discipline, who often have deep pockets - & expect gratitude for opening them up. But thought is also turning to "life after Nigel", esp. with Musk falling out with him

wappingbloke.bsky.social•57 days ago

Not just one he leads but one where he has complete unassailable control of the party

This is why I never believed Jenrick would defect. He is ambitious and Reform won’t accommodate ambitious politicians

robertsaunders.bsky.social•57 days ago

There are a lot of people thinking about the post-Farage succession.

wappingbloke.bsky.social•57 days ago

That’s not happening anytime soon though and once Farage leaves why wouldn’t Reform go the way of UKIP? Reform is Farage, without him they will slip back into obscurity

tadaaa.bsky.social•58 days ago

House bricks have worked this out

Potentially too much for the Tories though

iouwon.bsky.social•58 days ago

Tories who favour a merger would want him to take over

sutherla.bsky.social•58 days ago

I am presently reading Ungovernable, which makes me wonder if there are loyal ministers in a Tory Cabinet

casmilus.bsky.social•57 days ago

That's the only book anyone wants about the Johnson years - all the gossip about what the creeps and fools were up to. Nobody cares about their ideas as we know they're just idiots who never had any worth hearing.

sdinpraxis.bsky.social•58 days ago

He's already hollowing them out.

robertsaunders.bsky.social•57 days ago

I thought you were replying to this tweet at first... https://bsky.app/profile/robertsaunders.bsky.social/post/3ljt4bwlrys2i

sdinpraxis.bsky.social•56 days ago

😀
Maybe it's Farage's response to the news of Lettuce Liz meeting Rupert Lowe, ghostwriting "Farage, My Part In His Downfall".

ec-d.bsky.social•58 days ago

Remember, too, that Reform is structured as a company limited by guarantee, with Farage and Zia Yusuf named as sole directors. There is no democracy in the party, so bust ups like the current one are inevitable.

arrellemm.bsky.social•58 days ago

I wonder if the Tories are in a fit state for strategic thought like this though. They feel quite reactive rather than thought through.

johnweyman.bsky.social•58 days ago

There should be a schism in the Conservative party. Those who are pro-EU should form a new Conservative party and the others should join reform. Sorted.

casmilus.bsky.social•57 days ago

Pro-Eu can just move over to Lib Dems, which might well cause a realignment of who counts as the official Opposition party.

johnweyman.bsky.social•56 days ago

I don't think proEU tories believe in free school meals or higher education.

jazzaoxon.bsky.social•57 days ago

They should sort themselves out by themselves. So far, the tories have disappointed and have shown no direction.

donmercutio.bsky.social•57 days ago

"There is only one lord of the rings, and he does not share power."

robertsaunders.bsky.social•57 days ago

I had exactly that quote in my mind!

donmercutio.bsky.social•57 days ago

I see Farage much more Grima Wormtounge to Trump's Saruman than Sauron himself, but the point was understood.

The Reform Party has one master and one master only!

islandgardener.bsky.social•57 days ago

They might take a lesson from what happened to the progressive Conservative Party when it merged with the Canadian Reform party. They became a post policy party who blew up the debt with ill advised tax cuts and their first leader is now the despotic creep running the IDU. The party moved

islandgardener.bsky.social•57 days ago

Further right but not far enough to avoid a piece breaking off to form a batshit crazy right wing party. They tried wooing the voters who left for that party back only to recently have them leave again when the party took a 30 point drop in the polls as things in the world hot serious. Something

islandgardener.bsky.social•57 days ago

They can’t be because they aren’t serious people. Especially the CPC party leader. The only less serious right wing party leaders are the Premier of Alberta and the opposition leader in B.C. And of course the leader of the federal fringe, wing nut right PPC.

casmilus.bsky.social•57 days ago

Reform will never grow as that would require delegation and sharing the platform with others who might be potential successors. It's a small business with a celebrity CEO who likes it as a personality cult, and none of them are too bothered to do the hard work of actual ground campaigning.

casmilus.bsky.social•57 days ago

There may well have already been tentative contacts, but they will have flopped because of an absurd demand for what Nigel's role should be. As we already know, Brexiteers are bad at negotiating as they have an inflated idea of their position and what they can achieve by "no deal walk away".

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