Former PM Sir John Major has admitted that the Conservative Party shares responsibility for the growing popularity of Reform UK.
Speaking to party members, Major criticised the Conservatives for having “too many internal disputes” while in government and for “poorly managing crises.”
He admitted that “we, as a party, bear part of the blame” for the rise in support for Nigel Farage’s movement.
Major, who led the country from 1990 to 1997, has consistently warned the Conservatives against shifting further to the right in reaction to Reform’s growth.
He said: “Anxious people are turning to populist politicians, who have no philosophy, no experience of the complexities of Government, and no hope of lifting our four nations back into prosperity.
“Frustration with democracy should not blind us to the toxic nature of nationalism – or any – and every form of populist or authoritarian government.”
Hitting out at his own party, Sir John said: “There have been too many internal squabbles. Crises have been handled poorly. The electorate believes we have taken them for granted.
“At the last election, we had the worst result in our history. Our own pitiful share of the vote means we must re-think, reassess, understand what failed, correct it, and begin to rebuild.”
The former prime minister has previously described the Rwanda policy as “un-British,” stating last year that many people who arrive in the UK on small boats do so simply because “they’re unsure where else to turn.”
In September last year, Sir John told the BBC’s Amol Rajan: “I thought it [the Rwanda scheme] was un-Conservative, un-British, if one dare say in a secular society, un-Christian, and unconscionable, and I thought that this is really not the way to treat people.”
In 2023, he said Britain made a “colossal mistake” when it left the European Union. Read more here.