Nigel Farage's return is 'nightmare' for Sunak

Farage to lead Reform UK and run for Parliament, but even without election victory, party will put pressure on the Tories

New Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announces that he will stand in the upcoming general election
Nigel Farage has claimed Reform could be neck and neck with the Tories in the polls within a week
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

Nigel Farage's announcement that he will lead Reform UK into the upcoming general election is Rishi Sunak's "worst nightmare" come true, said The Times's political sketchwriter Tom Peck.

At an "emergency general election announcement" press conference in London yesterday, Richard TiceReform's leader since 2021 – revealed that he would be handing the reins to Farage, who will also be running as the party's candidate in Clacton.

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It was another "potentially damaging blow" for the Conservative Party's "faltering" general election campaign, said The Guardian. Not only does Farage's entry into the election "pose an immediate threat" to the Tory candidate in Clacton, it may also "energise his party's national campaign, splitting the right-wing vote in other constituencies".

The town's current Tory MP, former sitcom actor Giles Watling, was elected for the second time in 2019 with a comfortable 24,000 majority that now looks anything but safe. Or, as Farage's campaign manager, Peter Harris, put it: "Giles Watling starred in 'Bread', but now he is toast."

Regardless of whether the eighth time will prove to be the lucky one for Farage's parliamentary ambitions, his dramatic re-entry into British politics is "a moment that will haunt Rishi Sunak for four more weeks", said Peck, "and after that, one suspects, the rest of his life".

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Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.

With contributions from