Priti Patel has doubled down on her Nigel Farage stance, telling GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope that letting him back into the Tory fold “wouldn’t be right”.
The Reform chief has repeatedly ruled out any chance of rejoining the party he left in 1992 in protest at John Major’s leadership.
But in recent years, party chiefs have faced calls to pull off what would be a sensational coup, given the 60-year-old’s track record in campaigning.
The ongoing Tory leadership contest will have done little to satisfy those wanting a Nigel return as all contenders have ruled out the possibility, including Patel.
Priti Patel says Nigel Farage rejoining the Conservatives ‘wouldn’t be right’
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Patel, who has a positive relationship with the former UKIP leader, said the damage caused by Reform to the Tory vote at the General Election as a key reason for her position.
She told Chopper: “First of all, Reform is not the Conservative Party. It’s a political party that stood against the Conservative Party in the General Election.
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“On top of that, we lost a lot of colleagues, good public servants. So I think it’s just not right.
“He’s the leader of a political party. They’ll do what they do. We’re in the process now of election a party for our party and rebuilding our party.”
Patel went on to explain her vision for the party and insisted her priority is ensuring they learn the lessons of the chastening vote in July.
“My complete mantra for the future of our party is going back to being the authentic Conservative Party that we always had been”, she said.
Priti Patel joined Christopher on Chopper’s Political Podcast
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“I think that got lost in translation. You mentioned the four million people who voted for Reform, and rightly so.
“It’s important to recognise that a lot of them were disillusioned. A lot of them saw that we failed to deliver.
“We saw a lot of tactical voting in this General Election. These are big messages and lessons to my party, we’ve got to learn from tat.
“I’ll never be dismissive about what happened at the General Election, but my focus as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party is to make sure we go back to being a strong Conservative and Unionist Party.”
Nigel Farage’s comments on the riots were refuted by Patel
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Patel was critical of Nigel earlier this month after he compared recent riots to Black Lives Matter protests.
The former Home Secretary rejected his claim about “two-tier policing”.
She told Times Radio: “I’ve seen the statement and the comments that he has made, particularly about the Black Lives Matter protest, which, by the way, took place during the pandemic when we had a range of restrictions around protest.
“There’s a clear difference between effectively blocking streets or roads being closed to burning down libraries, hotels, food banks and attacking places of worship. What we have seen is thuggery, violence, racism.
“Those kinds of comments are simply not relevant right now. That is not correct. It is not correct.”