Former Conservative MP Bob Seeley has congratulated Reform UK after the party surpassed Conservative Party membership numbers, whilst warning his former party they have “a fight on their hands.”
Speaking to GB News, Seeley acknowledged Reform’s success but questioned whether growing membership would translate into policy impact.
He told GB News: “Congratulations to Reform. I’m not going to sit here slagging them off. They’re doing well and they’re picking up votes because people are disenchanted.
“We have probably the worst government we’re ever going to see in our lifetime. I think Starmer’s a disastrous prime minister.
The former MP congratulated Reform
GB News
“Rayner, Reeves, they’re all pretty dire. People are fed up and Labour are learning all the wrong lessons from the last election.
“The Conservatives have got a fight in their hands. I’m not going to pretend otherwise, but there’s a difference between picking up membership on the back of an unpopular government and that translating into policy.
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“I think there’s still an awful long way to go before the next general election. I’m sure that things will be picking up for the Conservatives in the new year as well.”
He added: “We don’t know where those voters come from. Some of them may be disgruntled Tories, but a lot of people are maybe people who wouldn’t have joined either of the two political parties.
“Increasingly, there is evidence to suggest that Reform’s future votes may be coming from Labour voters as well.
“What concerns me as someone who loves their country is that there is a split in the Conservative vote.
Nigel Farage said that he was “delighted” by the news
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“Maybe I will be proved wrong, but I really don’t believe that Nigel Farage is going to be entering Downing Street. They’ve got five MPs now.
“They got a reasonable showing in the election in terms of percentage votes. But what that did was allow Labour to have this loveless landslide rather than build up a parliamentary base.”
His comments come as the Conservative Party’s membership has seen a significant decline, dropping from around 172,000 members during the 2022 leadership contest.
The figure fell to 131,680 members during the autumn leadership election that saw Kemi Badenoch replace Rishi Sunak.
Bob Seeley said that the Tories has a “fight on their hands”
GB News
Reform UK’s digital counter showed its membership tally passing this figure before lunchtime on Boxing Day.
Nigel Farage called it a “historic moment” on X, stating: “The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world.”
Reform UK’s party chairman Zia Yusuf made bold claims about the party’s future following the membership milestone.
“History has been made today, as the centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics by the Tories has finally been broken,” he said.
Mr Yusuf went further, declaring: “Nigel Farage will be the next prime minister, and will return Britain to greatness.”
