Angela Rayner’s resignation shows this government is “as bad – if not worse – than the one that went before”, Nigel Farage has told the Reform UK party conference in his main address.
Ms Rayner sensationally quit as deputy prime minister and housing secretary just one hour before Mr Farage took to the stage after an investigation into her tax affairs over her purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.
Capitalising on the chaos within government, the Reform UK leader told the Birmingham crowd the scandal “screams entitlement”.
“It screams to a government that despite all the promises that this would be a new, different kind of politics is as bad – if not worse – than the one that went before.”
He said he had brought forward his keynote speech at Reform UK’s party conference after Ms Rayner’s resignation because the government is “deep in crisis” and “not fit to govern”.
He also said Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet was full of “wholly unqualified people” and joked about Ms Rayner being “an accomplished property developer and speculator”.
The deputy prime minister, who announced her decision to step down on Friday morning, had faced mounting pressure to stand down over recent days after admitting she underpaid stamp duty by £40,000 on the flat she bought earlier this year.
Ms Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, who, in his report into her conduct to Sir Keir, said she had breached the ministerial code.
Mr Farage used his speech to repeat his prediction that a general election could take place as soon as 2027, two years earlier than expected, as well as promising to stop the boats within two weeks.
He also announced that the party will set up a new “department for preparing for government so that when we win, we can hit the ground running.”
“We’re used to hearing stories of splits in the Conservative Party. We’re about to witness a big rift in the Labour Party, too,” the Clacton MP told party members.
He added: “Before long, there’ll be Labour MPs that reckon they’ve got a better chance on the Jeremy Corbyn sectarian ticket … they’ve got a better chance of being re-elected under that ticket, under Corbyn, than they do under Sir Keir.”
“I think there is every chance now of a general election happening in 2027.”
The Reform leader said he was going to have lunch with the Albanian premier to talk about deporting foreign criminals, warning: “We will stop what is a threat to our national security, what is a danger to girls and women on our streets.
“We will stop the boats and we will detain and deport those who illegally break into our country, doing what nearly every normal country around the rest of the world does.
“You cannot come here illegally and stay – we will stop the boats within two weeks of winning government.”
Mr Farage also welcomed former Tory cabinet minister and Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries to the stage, after her defection to the party on Thursday night.
He admitted that Reform’s “weakness” is that “none of our senior figures have ever been in government before”.
Ms Dorries is the highest profile Tory to join Reform after defections from former party chair Sir Jake Berry, former Wales secretary David Jones, and Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
"We need people who understand just how the system works and what the difficulties are”, he said.
Speaking ahead of Mr Farage was Dame Andrea, now Reform UK mayor, who got party activists to “stand up and be proud to be the party of the brave”, before chanting: “Nigel Farage will be prime minister”.
She closed off her address by shouting – to wild applause – “Reform will save Britain”.
