Nigel Farage calls on Suella Braverman to ditch the Tories and join Reform UK

The former UKIP leader challenged Suella Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary by Rishi Sunak, to think about ‘whether she is in the right party’

Nigel Farage has urged Suella Braverman to ditch the Tories and join Reform UK ahead of this year’s general election.

The former UKIP leader challenged Ms Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary by Rishi Sunak, to think about “whether she is in the right party”.

Mr Farage said the Conservatives will never pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights, something Ms Braverman has called for, and said she should consider joining the insurgent right-wing party.

Mr Farage set up Reform UK as the Brexit Party in 2018, handing the leadership to fellow Brexiteer Richard Tice in 2021.

It poses a significant threat to Mr Sunak at the general election as, while it may not win any seats, it could deprive the Tories of majorities in dozens of constituencies.

Nigel Farage has said Ms Braverman should question ‘whether she is in the right party’ (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

It currently has the backing of around 10 per cent of the electorate, attracting voters upset with the government’s handling of immigration and the economy.

Speaking to GB News, Mr Farage said he would welcome Ms Braverman to the party.

He said: “Let’s be honest, there is no Conservative Party. They stand up and pretend to be Conservative occasionally but always govern like liberals.

“Are we, in Brexit Britain, a self-governing, self-determining nation? Probably not.

“You can say Labour are worse than the Tories, and they probably are, but the Tories are pretty awful. They won’t even contemplate, as a party, leaving the ECHR which we have to do because that will be true to the spirit of Brexit.”

He added: “It’s all well and good for Suella to come out now, as a former Home Secretary, to say we should do this. Maybe Suella should be asking herself whether she’s in the right party.

“Richard Tice runs Reform, I am merely the honorary president: I am non-executive, I have no fiduciary responsibility so it’s not up to me.

“But would I like to see Suella join Reform? Of course I would.”

Ms Braverman was sacked as home secretary for stoking tensions ahead of a pro-Palestine march in London (PA Wire)

Mr Farage’s intervention comes amid fevered speculation that Lee Anderson, who was suspended as a Tory MP after an Islamophobic rant about London mayor Sadiq Khan, will defect to Reform.

The ex-Tory deputy chairman has met Mr Tice and has repeatedly refused to rule out joining the party.

And the comments come days after former Tory PM Liz Truss said Mr Farage, who is the honorary president of Reform, should rejoin the Tories to “help turn our country around”.

Mr Farage quit the Conservative Party in 1992 after John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty.

Mr Sunak has left the door open for his potential return, refusing to rule it out. But Mr Farage has said he is not interested, lashing out at the Tories’ “big state, high tax” policies.