Reform has been gaining in the polls since Farage spectacularly announced his intention to stand at the election, with some right-leaning Conservative figures, including Braverman, arguing there should now be a place for him inside the Tory tent.
Bale said that if Reform does well on July 4, there would be “a bunch of Braverman-style MPs who will be up for uniting the right by inviting Farage and his colleagues into the Tory fold.”
He predicted that any fightback from the moderates would depend on their mettle. “Will they have the cojones to take on the right? Frankly, I’m not sure they will,” Bale added.
Among the other candidates likely to throw their hats into the ring in a future leadership contest are the Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, a centrist, and the former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, once a solid Sunak ally but who has become increasingly outspoken on migration in recent months. Both have been “putting friendly phone calls in to people,” one Tory candidate said.
However, as the same would-be MP pointed out wearily: “If the polls are right, most of the candidates won’t be there for a leadership race — and I won’t be there to vote for them either.”
Emilio Casalicchio contributed reporting.
