If Nigel Farage became leader of the Tory party….

[Diefrausagtnein]

Would it help their electoral chances ?
Apparently there’s a rumour circulating that Tory MPs want to orchestrate a coup and replace Sunak with him as he’s seen as catnip to certain voters and would improve their abysmal chances of winning the next GE. If you’re a disillusioned Tory voter would you be tempted to vote for them with Nige at the helm ? And red wall Brexiteers, would it influence a return to Labour, either way ?

Absolutely correct Leadbetter

Also useful idiots for those of us who want the Tories out.

Agree, @TheLeadbetterLife. Interesting how rich Farage has got whilst sitting on his arse (in the pub, mainly).

No one in their right mind would vote for Boris either. Oops.

I don't think even the current Tory party would be mad enough to undertake such an act of extraordinary self-sabotage (although I am painfully aware that this statement may well come back to bite me in the bum).

Godalive, if ever I was tempted to vote Conservative, having NF at the helm would bring me right back to my senses!

I never cease to be amazed and alarmed at the number of people who voted for Trump the first time....and would do so again (not that I think Biden is really a suitable candidate)
It beggars belief in a country as big as the US that's the choice!! 😱

I agree. Biden is not capitalising on the good he has done, and Trump, well, there are no words.

As you say, it speaks volumes that these are the two best candidates their respective parties can put forward.

There must be a lot of people 'not in their right mind' both there and here 🤦‍♂️

How can he be leader when he isn’t either an MP or a Conservative. Plus they’d have to get rid of Sunack which would mean NF would be PM?!?!?!?

There would be a riot if that happened. And I’d be front of the crowd.

That would be hilarious, he has stood for election I believe 7 times now and never anywhere near winning, honestly he just isnt as popular as he tells you he is 😂😂😂

I would have said the same about Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch, but they are both still here.

Again, processing asylum claims offshore does not make the Tories far right, or fascists. This is ridiculous now. By this logic anyone associated with Arsenal Football Club must be daft racists and must be cast into the abyss.

PS I have never voted Conservative and probably never will, but come on.

Again, the Tories are not planning to process claims offshore. Rwanda are processing the claims and if the claims are accepted they get to stay in Rwanda. They aren’t being processed and returned to the UK if accepted.

Clearly others have different views but I think both parties have become quite centrist (and I've read the same opinions in the press).

I'm a lifelong Conservative voter and don't mind Rishi but I won't be voting for them in the next election. I'd never vote Labour or Lib Dem so am seriously thinking about voting Reform as a protest vote.

Doubt they'll get any MPs but at least it shows some public support for change. I'd also be tempted to vote for a party that is brave enough to acknowledge that the NHS needs major reform to survive.

Lol at the idea of the current Tory party being centrist!

I guess it might look that way if you're that far to the right.

How depressing!!

How depressing

Not necessarily, I don't see the far left as depressing, just people holding a different set of views to mine. There's no right or wrong whether you vote Conservative or Labour, as much as MN tends to see Tory voters as evil scumbags.

I'm glad that you don't find it depressing.

I'm afraid I do.

And I do believe that morality - right and wrong - is a factor in politics. The fact that you don't probably explains your voting intentions.

The problem is that the further right the 'right' go, the further right the 'left' has to go in order to appeal to the electorate who are either undecided or unhappy with how far right the 'right' is going.

In the current instance, it could be argued that the Labour Party are almost centrist in an attempt to draw voters away from the Conservative party, who are further right than I've ever seen in my lifetime.

Why will you never vote for the LP or LDs out of interest ? The incarnation of the Tory party under Thatcher was very different to that under hug a hoody Cameron.
They changed. Like how can you vote as a teenager for the same party as you did in your 40s or 50s. Your concerns are very different. To me that says the policies mean nothing but your impression of the party and what it stands for is more important.

I would say don't be daft NF will never be Tory party leader that's insane but so is the state of British politics so.... it would be like the fascist government in the film V for Vendetta (who would be V I wonder??).

Currently, the Tories can either lose on a small to medium scale to Labour with NF out of the picture all together, or they can lose massively to Labour if NF decides to stand for Reform. Or perhaps Lee Anderson will defect to Reform which would also be very bad news for the Tories.

Or there's a third way....

If you were looking for a way to save the Tory party from almost total wipeout, what would you do?

Starmer won't pick up many extra votes either way. Disillusioned Tories won't vote for him. Some will hurrumph a lot but still vote for Sunak, loads will vote Reform, or not vote at all. If NF does nothing, all a vote for Reform will do is increase the number of Labour seats. If NF stands for Reform they probably won't win but they'll put a big dent in Labour's majority.

If NF is made head of the Tory party it's all to play for and KS will, quite frankly, crap himself.

Like how can you vote as a teenager for the same party as you did in your 40s or 50s. Your concerns are very different.

I don’t think your concerns are different. You either care about a fair society with quality public services or you’re an individualist who believes in a small state and paying as little tax as possible. Apparently people move to the right as they get older so it’s very unlikely that someone who voted Conservative in their teens would consider voting for any party to the left of it.

What happens in 5 years? Where will you go?

People's concerns might change but generally their principles stay pretty constant.

"If NF is made head of the Tory party it's all to play for and KS will, quite frankly, crap himself."

How & when do you see this happening before the next election?

Farage would need to be made an MP (there are safe seats around somewhere), but then get waved through a leadership campaign (he won't, there are quite a few competitors lining up).
Why would Sunak delay an election to benefit Farage?