Boris Johnson fails to understand his role in the rise of Reform UK
Mr Johnson appears to be unaware that the rise of Reform is almost entirely his fault. He squandered a massive parliamentary majority by ignoring the wishes of the Conservative electorate: opening our borders to mass low-skilled migration; allowing damaging wokery to subvert women's rights; pursuing economically illiterate net zero policies; and failing to keep reasonable control of the behaviour of his Downing Street staff during Covid.
In its growing support for Reform, the public is signalling that it has had enough of tone-deaf politicians who wilfully ignore the wishes of voters and break promises in their manifestos. The fact that Mr Johnson is unable to see this only confirms the diagnosis.
Will Curtis
Raydon, Suffolk
SIR – Boris Johnson has failed to grasp the most rudimentary principle of politics, which is that the first duty of any government is to secure the borders. Nigel Farage and his party take this obligation seriously, while Mr Johnson, along with other Tory prime ministers in recent years, singularly failed in this crucial area, with disastrous consequences.
Will Forrow
Dawlish , Devonshire
SIR – It's a bit rich for Boris Johnson to tell us to ignore Nigel Farage. Mr Johnson's 'green industrial revolution' included the banning of sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, a massive expansion in the number of wind turbines, and unrealistic targets to cut emissions. His green obsession has left us with the most expensive energy of all the developed nations, deindustrialisation, and impoverishment of the UK population.
N H Bailey
Stockport, Cheshire
SIR – Boris Johnson appears ignorant of the thousands of voters who have switched to Reform UK because of Tory arrogance and incompetence. One hopes that Kemi Badenoch has a proper grasp of recent Conservative failings, and will ignore both him and those who, incredibly, believe that bringing Mr Johnson back to repeat past mistakes might somehow lead to a different outcome next time.
Stephen Kemp
Leicester
SIR – For the first time ever, I agree with Boris Johnson. Nigel Farage is a serial political failure, rejected by voters on many occasions. As a member of the European parliament, he failed to support British farmers and fishermen. Like his hero Donald Trump, Mr Farage lives for publicity, making ridiculous promises and fooling the gullible. Without constant attention, he would fade away.
A Lloyd
Liverpool
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