General election newest: Top Tory breaks ranks saying ‘Nigel Farage ought to be welcomed’ | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Suella Braverman has mentioned Nigel Farage “should be welcomed” by the Conservative Party. The former residence secretary advised The Times the Tories are a “broad church” and should not exclude anybody who needs “Conservatives to get elected”.

Her feedback come days after a ballot prompt Mr Farage, who leads Reform UK, is the preferred choice to succeed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as chief of the Conservatives if Labour wins the General Election.

Ms Braverman advised The Times: “We need to, in the future, to find some way to work together because there shouldn’t be big differences between us. I would welcome Nigel into the Conservative Party. There’s not much difference really between him and many of the policies that we stand for.”

A ballot by Redfield and Wilton, performed for The Independent, surveyed 2,000 adults final Wednesday and Thursday. It confirmed 19 % of individuals suppose Mr Farage ought to take over from Mr Sunak, with 22 % of 2019 Conservative voters surveyed agreeing.

The ballot provided six different names – Penny Mordaunt (15 %), James Cleverly (six %), Kemi Badenoch (5 %), Suella Braverman (4 %), Priti Patel (two %) and Robert Jenrick (one %).

To add to the worrying polls for the Tories, 37 % of individuals surveyed mentioned the Reform UK celebration ought to change the Conservatives as the most important opposition to Labour, with 30 % disagreeing.

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