FORMER Tory MP Scott Benton has expressed his support for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and said he is a “authentic Conservative”.
Benton was responding to comments from Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride who said there would be “no deals” with Farage if he wins the Tory leadership contest.
Speaking on GB News, Benton said: “The fact of the matter is Nigel Farage has a huge mandate at the moment, over four million people, predominantly ex-Conservative voters, have just voted Reform due to Nigel’s inspirational leadership.
“For many people, myself included, he is a standout, charismatic figure on the right of a party. And of course, what we are seeing from the leadership contenders in the Tory party at the moment are different comments about whether Nigel Farage should be allowed to join the party.
“What we’re not really seeing any debates about is, how on earth does the Tory party attract those millions of lost voters back into the party fold, who have lost trust with the party because of its failures on immigration, on net zero, and taxation and all of those different things?
“I’m afraid, sooner or later those six different candidates are really going to have to flesh out a plan and some convincing answers on how to draw people back into the fold who previously voted Conservative but have lost complete faith in the party because of its failures on these key button issues over the last 14 years.
“It’s very easy to say at the moment, ‘well, we don’t want Nigel to be welcomed back into the Tory party fold’. Of course, the big question is, why on earth would somebody with so much political momentum behind him at the moment be interested in the slightest in rejoining a party?
“The wind is certainly in Reform’s sails and I think any notion of Nigel wanting to join the party again is ludicrous.”
He added: “Of course, he is a Conservative. Everything he says, whether on the economy, on the need to regenerate some of our left-behind communities, on international aid, taxation, immigration, all of those things, Nigel is a core, authentic Conservative.
“That’s how the grassroots of the Conservative Party would see him, whether Conservative leadership hopefuls like it or not, he is the standout charismatic figure on the right of a party.
“I’m afraid he captures the hopes and dreams of millions of lost Tory voters which, at the moment, I’m not seeing any of the leadership hopefuls really tapping into or trying to aspire to.”
