A veteran Brexiteer who has fought to give Conservative members greater control of their party has “given up” on the Tories and now believes that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is the country’s “last hope”. David Campbell Bannerman, a former MEP who served as deputy leader of Ukip and later joined the Conservatives, argues Mr Farage can be a “revolutionary prime minister” who will do more than “tinker” with the nation.
He was known as a strong supporter of Boris Johnson who opposed his ousting, and as a co-founder of the Conservative Democratic Organisation he pushed for greater powers for local Tory branches to choose prospective MPs. He claims “decent, hardworking and committed members” have been “treated with arrogance bordering on contempt by the central party”.
“The party is dying because it has driven out its lifeblood – ordinary members – treating them as stupid, ignorant and unworthy of consultation,” he warned.
He is concerned the “Conservative party will always be woke-leaning and Left-leaning” because members have not been “put in charge”.
Mr Campbell Bannerman will set out his full reasons for leaving the Conservatives and his hopes for Reform in an interview with the Sunday Express and an essay on Express.co.uk.
“I really think it could be a revolutionary government,” he said. “And that’s exactly what we need.”
He admitted that most of the Conservatives he respected have already joined Reform UK and said he “may be one of the last to throw in the towel”. He sees Reform as the “true Conservative party” but argues it is also “far more than an alternate Blue party – it is the party of patriots”.
The former public affairs executive hopes a Reform Government will make the most of Brexit opportunities which have yet to be grasped and get remaining EU laws off the statute book.
“We need to be refreshingly different,” he said. “We need to scrap a lot of these EU laws that are destroying the economy in Germany and France and throughout the EU.”
Confident that Mr Farage has what it takes to be a successful prime minister, he said: “I have known Nigel a long time and have always admired his courage, tenacity, and political instincts.”
He now wants to work to help Reform deliver a “revolutionary new government”.
Mr Campbell Bannerman’s move to Reform comes as the Conservatives are fighting to reclaim their position as the leading party on the centre-Right.New polling by Ipsos shows that when people were asked who was the “main opposition to the Labour Government”, 42% said Reform UK and 28% named the Conservatives. However, this represents a seven-point drop for Reform and a seven-point gain since May for Kemi Badenoch’s party.