Jonathan Brady/PA
ITV’s role in rehabilitating Nigel Farage’s reputation has been thrown into the spotlight after concerning details of the ex-UKIPer’s return to politics were leaked.
According to reports in the Daily Mail, the GB News presenter is being linked with a return to a senior role with Reform UK, which he will use to turn the next general election – expected to take place next year – into a referendum on the UK’s immigration levels.
The prime minister has backtracked on a December speech on the issue amid concerns that the government’s “stop the boats” plan could be in crisis.
Conservative party splits over the Rwanda bill, the suspected suicide of an Albanian man on the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, and a failure to place asylum seekers in large numbers into surplus MoD accommodation have all been cited as cause for concern.
Reform UK will look to heap more pressure on Sunak by bringing Farage back into the fold.
Farage still has an honorary position with Reform, but sources told the Observer today that they expect him to take a frontline role in the new year as it seeks to build on a rise in support.
If they succeed on their latest bid to split the nation, ITV will be held partly responsible after they offered Farage a £1.5 million bung to enter the jungle for this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
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