Nigel Farage could be leader of the opposition after the next election, Harriet Harman predicts
Reform UK could replace the Conservatives as the second-largest party at the next election, former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman has predicted.
The peer said Nigel Farage’s party “seem to have an argument and they seem to know what it is”.
Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said that while she often believed that talk of party splits and decline were exaggerated, she did think this was the case with regards to Reform.
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“I feel quite conflicted about this because I don’t want to talk up Reform,” she said.
“But I actually think that Reform are going to replace the Conservatives at the next election because they seem to have an argument and they seem to know what that argument is.”
Her words highlight the increasingly bitter battle between the Tories and Reform following the general election, which saw Mr Farage elected to parliament for the first time.
Last week Sky News revealed how the co-chair of the Conservative Party, Lord Johnson, had expressed concern that Elon Musk’s relationship with Reform was diverting attention away from the Conservatives.
Lord Johnson said he believed the reports about a potential donation from Mr Musk to the Conservatives’ rivals was “frustrating because it takes a lot of oxygen and I’m very aware of the fact that people are talking about Reform today and they’re not talking about Kemi Badenoch and the new Conservative agenda”.
Ms Harman acknowledged that Reform also posed a threat to her party, but said Labour was aided by the fact it was now in government “and we can do things”.
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At the election, Reform came second in 98 seats, 89 of which are held by Labour.
“When you’re in opposition you can only talk about them and at the moment [Reform] are talking a good talk and Kemi is not talking at all,” she said.
“So I think it’s in the opposition position that the changeover will happen.
“Yes, we have to actually deliver for the people who otherwise will turn to Reform because they feel that democracy is not meeting their needs and the government is not meeting their needs.
“But actually – and I don’t like making this prediction – I actually think the Conservatives are going to be finished and Reform is going to take over.”