Farage says Tories 'betrayed' UK and calls for 'zero' net migration

Nigel Farage today claimed the Tories have 'betrayed' Britain as he called for the UK to have 'zero' net migration and defended controversial comments about Muslims. The newly-installed Reform UK leader, who has sent Conservatives panicking with his return to the political frontline, said immigration had 'exploded' in recent years. The Brexiteer insisted certain sectors of the economy would have to put up with shortages in a bid to reduce the number of arrivals into the country. Mr Farage claimed this would drive up wages and 'encourage people to learn skills rather than heading off to university and doing social sciences'.

He also risked stirring up a fresh row this morning in a fiery clash with BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain. Mr Farage doubled down on his view that a growing number of British Muslims 'do not subscribe to British values', which has been branded 'ignorant and offensive'. He also defended claims that there are some streets in Britain where 'no one speaks English'. Challenged about his remarks, Mr Farage replied: 'I could take you streets in Oldham right now where no one speaks English.' But he declined to comment on whether his own children spoke a second language, when asked how he knew people in Oldham were not multilingual.

The 60-year-old has vowed to lead a 'political revolt' against the Tories and Labour after his bombshell announcement that he will lead Reform for the next five years. In a stunning U-turn, Mr Farage is also now eyeing a seat in the House of Commons and will later today formally launch his campaign to become MP for Clacton-on-Sea. In a round of interviews today, Mr Farage launched a direct attack on the Tories over immigration numbers and firmly ruled out a pact with Rishi Sunak's party.

He told the BBC: 'We have been betrayed by a Conservative Party that I gave considerable help to in 2019. 'We were told that we would get control of our borders, we were told the immigration numbers would come down, they have exploded. I feel betrayed by them, millions of voters feel betrayed by them.' Mr Farage claimed the Tories were 'well past their sell-by-date, the brand is ruined, they've lost the election already'. He added: 'We cannot go on as we are - we have to limit numbers. Our lives, our quality of life in this country, is being diminished by the population explosion. And if that means that in some sectors there'd be shortages, what that then means is wages will go up and we'd start to encourage people to learn skills rather than heading off to university and doing social sciences.'

Mr Farage stated his aim was to have 'net migration at zero', which would allow 'room within the labour market for up to 600,000 people' to come to Britain each year. Latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggested that 1.2 million people migrated into the UK last year and 532,000 people emigrated from it. This left a net migration figure of 685,000 for 2023. In a later interview, Mr Farage suggested his long-term aim was to effectively take over the Conservative Party. He told ITV's Good Morning Britain he could not stand for or seek to lead the Conservative Party 'as they currently are'.

But he added: 'You can speculate as to what'll happen in three or four years' time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it's the other way around.' He pointed to Canada, where 'Reform did a reverse takeover of the Conservative Party, rebranded it and Stephen Harper – who was elected as a Reform MP – became the Canadian prime minister for 10 years'. He said: 'I don't want to join the Conservative Party, I think the better thing to do would be to take it over.'

Mr Farage last night used an op-ed for The Telegraph to argue that Britons are 'furious' at how both Labour and the Conservatives have approached immigration. He added there is also 'deep anger' at the rate at which public services are 'disintegrating'. Mr Sunak suffered the darkest hour of his election campaign yesterday afternoon. During a dramatic 60 minutes, the Prime Minister suffered a double blow as Mr Farage entered the fray and a new poll predicted a Tory wipeout.

Mr Farage, when announcing his bid for the Clacto seat, said the election needed a bit of 'gingering up', as he described it as 'the dullest, most boring election campaign we have ever seen in our lives'. Writing in The Telegraph, he alleged that the UK has been 'failed by two main parties' who have 'conspired to accelerate our decline'. He argued that neither the Tories nor Labour have a 'plan to pull this country out of a deep economic hole' and that both are 'hooked on a deadly addiction to mass immigration'. The Reform Party leader, citing alleged interactions with 'patriotic Brits' he met while campaigning last weekend, claimed that voters feel 'sick' at the Government's 'policy of betrayal'. 

'The people that I meet are furious at, first Labour, and now the Tories' open-door approach to mass immigration, with some 2.5 million migrants entering the UK in the past two years alone,' he wrote. 'There is also deep anger that public services, from healthcare to housing, are disintegrating even as record peacetime taxes are levied on pitifully stagnant wages.' He alleged there is 'utter despondency' that neither party will be forward a plan or leader that 'offers just a shred of hope that things might improve'. 'There's no doubt that I have taken a big risk in giving up the life I enjoy to work for a vision of Britain so hated by our wrong-headed elites,' Mr Farage added. 'But the state of the nation has left me with no choice.'

Meanwhile, the biggest poll of the campaign to date suggested Sir Keir Starmer is on course to eclipse Tony Blair's 1997 landslide win. The YouGov survey for Sky News predicted Sir Keir could claim a 194-seat majority, with Labour winning 422 seats to the Tories' 140. The result would reduce Mr Sunak's party to its lowest number of MPs since 1906. Mr Sunak launched a fightback today, with plans for an annual cap on immigration to cut the number of arrivals 'year on year'.

The PM is also preparing for his first televised debate with Sir Keir Starmer tonight, in which he is expected to paint the Labour leader as an unprincipled politician willing to 'say anything' to seize power while hiding his true agenda. Senior Tory sources last night insisted that opinion polls are painting an overly gloomy picture of their prospects. One said: 'The situation on the ground is significantly better than the polls would have you believe.'

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