Nigel Farage has his sights set on Rishi Sunak’s seat if the former Prime Minister decides to step down next month.
The Reform UK Party leader is set to be lining up a “high profile” candidate to replace Sunak in Richmond and Northallerton – a seat he held with a 12,185 majority at the General Election in July.
Both Sunak and his former Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Oliver Dowden, are tipped to leave the Commons in November, with sources telling the Mail on Sunday that Farage has received “intelligence” regarding the Conservative MPs’ future.
Sources close to Sunak said they would be “surprised” if the former PM resigned, and during the election, he vowed to serve a full term as MP if he lost.
However, this hasn’t stopped speculation about his future in the Commons.
The same sources said that in the event that Sunak quits, he has built up a “lot of goodwill in the Tory party” by staying in the post whilst the leadership race drags on.
Rumoured to be eyeing up the seat is Penny Mordaunt, who lost her Portsmouth North seat in July.
However, a Reform UK source said that Farage had “two former Tory MPs and one current Tory MP ready to defect” and stand in by-elections.
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A win for Farage’s party in a potential by-election would bolster Reform UK even further, who are currently neck-and-neck with the Tories according to recent polls.
A recent survey from JL Partners showed that voters currently have a more positive view of Reform UK than they do Labour – Farage has vowed to become the ruling party’s largest opposition.
Robert Jenrick, Tory leadership hopeful, has warned that Reform UK are “rising” and “not going anywhere”.
Outlining his plans during GB News’ special broadcast Decision Time: The Race to Lead, Jenrick warned the Conservatives to “get serious”.
He highlighted immigration as being the “reason that we lost four million of our people to Reform at the general election”.
Robert Jenrick, Tory leadership hopeful, has warned that Reform UK are ‘rising’ and ‘not going anywhere’
PA
Speaking to The People’s Channel about his vision for the Tories, Jenrick affirmed that whoever wins, must “get the Conservative family back together”.
Jenrick explained: “It doesn’t just mean uniting the 121 conservative MPs, it means getting back all small-c conservatives.
“People who watch your programme – some will have voted Conservative this election, some will have voted Reform, some won’t vote at all, and some will have voted for Labour or the Lib Dems.”
Issuing a warning to the Conservatives ahead of their election result, he urged members to “get serious” on the issues they care about as he “doesn’t want to wait ten years in opposition”.
Jenrick stated: “I don’t think the Conservative Party has time. You’ve seen in 100 days the damage this Labour Government has made, and I don’t want to wait ten years in opposition.”
