Tories face ‘existential risk' as Farage enters stage right

Two more major polls suggest electoral wipeout for the party

- ARCHIE MITCHELL, DAVID MADDOX

Nigel Farage has electrified the general election campaign, taking over as leader of Reform UK and launching a bid to become an MP.

As first revealed by The Independent, Mr Farage will run in Toryheld Clacton in Essex in what is already being described as “an existential risk” for the Tories. The decision comes as a major blow to Rishi Sunak’s electoral hopes, as the former Ukip leader – who had said he would not run to be an MP – confirmed he had changed his mind and decided to contest the general election.

Within hours of the revelation, Tory MPs and candidates were being asked to attend a briefing on an “immigration lock” pledge which means a Conservative government would set a legal limit on annual immigration figures. The move was being seen as a bid to stop Reform UK and Mr Farage splitting the vote on the right.

Mr Farage’s announcement came on a day when two major polls suggested that the Tories were already heading for a historically bad defeat. A YouGov MRP poll of 12,000 people predicted Labour will have its biggest-ever majority, of 194, with the Tories marooned on 140 seats.

Earlier a Redfield and Wilton poll of 10,000 voters put Labour 26 points ahead of the Conservatives on just 20 per cent, suggesting the party could be down to a mere 24 seats. This followed an MRP poll at the weekend suggesting the Tories could be down to 66 seats. However, leading pollsters said that the news of Mr Farage standing as a candidate makes the outlook even worse for the Tories. Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice described the intervention as “important”.

Robert Hayward, a Tory peer and top pollster, told The Independent that Mr Farage’s original decision not to stand meant Reform’s vote would be much lower than is reflected in the polls and “had been the most damaging thing for any single party”.