Reform The Debate

Farage challenges Sunak as Conservative campaign wobbles.

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This may well be the Immigration Election - and the Prime Minister has been challenged to a debate on just this.

Before I get to that though, allow me to thank paid supporters of Heaver News for your comments in response to my previous article.

Following Nigel Farage’s announcement that he won’t be standing as a candidate at this General Election, Elizabeth commented:

“Not sure how far Reform can go without him unless they have something else up their sleeve.”

Well though Nigel isn’t standing in a constituency, he is already having a major impact campaigning for the Reform Party.

‘Stop the boats’ was Rishi Sunak’s pledge to voters. But his grand plan of flights to Rwanda hasn’t happened, with rumblings from Conservatives that the PM realised his plan was a weak, busted flush.

So instead he’s called the election before voters can watch his plan flop. Just consider this when it comes to the Government’s complete inaction.

On 24th May 288 people arrived on 5 boats.

Then on 25th May a further 227 came on 4 boats.

The 26th of May saw another 51 people cross from France to England on a single boat. Get the picture yet?

Rather than stopping the boats, we’ve witnessed illegal immigration surge year after year. They’ve lost control and yet still refuse to leave the ECHR.

On top of that of course we’ve witnessed a Conservative Government post-Brexit choose to ramp up legal net migration to levels we’ve not seen before.

Even many Conservative MPs are furious with the Government’s approach. Weak borders, mass migration and high taxes on top. Where is the conservative agenda exactly?

So this appalling record in power will be a major factor at the General Election - with Nigel Farage challenging Rishi Sunak to a debate.

Farage has said:

“I am challenging Rishi Sunak to a live TV debate on immigration.

“If he refuses, that will confirm the fact that he can’t stop the boats.”

I would be amazed if Sunak actually has the guts for such a debate. The only Tory argument nowadays seems to be that Labour will be even worse than them.

You’ll notice that the Conservatives rarely if ever actually attack Reform’s policies.

But Sunak’s party will be hoping to try and squeeze the Reform vote. But this is far from inevitable.

Techne’s recent poll for instance had a huge Labour lead followed by the Tories down to 19% and Reform up to 14%.

It has been a shambolic start for the Tories, with many of their own MPs apparently wrong-footed and furious with Sunak for triggering the surprise election.

You’ve already seen one outgoing Conservative MP endorse a Reform candidate.

Telford MP Lucy Allan endorsed Reform’s Alan Adams in the race to be her successor. Could there be more such instances?

One thing’s for sure: with Farage out front as a visible and vocal presence for Reform, the big debate about immigration won’t be one Sunak’s Tories can simply run away from anymore.