Nigel Farage’s claim to have invited every Conservative member at Kent County Council (KCC) to join Reform UK has been met with the response: “News to me!”
The Clacton MP posted a two minute video on X yesterday (October 24) showing him hitting the ‘send’ button on his laptop to 1,352 Tory councillors in England asking them to defect ahead of next May’s elections.
Nigel Farage's video posted on X on October 24
But six Tories contacted today by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) all said they had received no such invitation.
One councillor, who declined to be named, said a private WhatsApp group of more than 30 KCC members, were equally baffled by Mr Farage’s claims.
He added: “News to me. Sounds like a stunt that’s fallen flat.”
Leader of Dartford Council and KCC councillor Jeremy Kite joked: “I feel quite cheated! I don’t know whether it was just a bit of a gimmick but it wouldn’t have made any difference to me.”
The Conservatives currently have 59 of the 81 seats at County Hall but many backbenchers are nervous about Reform UK’s effect on voting patterns in some divisions.
None contacted said they had any intention of joining Reform UK.
In his video, Mr Farage boasted Reform UK would be “throwing the kitchen sink” at next May’s local elections.
He told viewers: “So, I am sending a letter to all 1,352 of them to say ‘Look, we are standing in every single seat in the English county elections.
“We will not be standing aside for absolutely anybody. You know in your heart of hearts this is four years on from peak Boris, when the Conservative Party was doing well, and you know the vast majority of you are going to lose your seats’.”
Mr Farage said he has set a deadline for Tories to respond ahead of Reform UK picking its slate of candidates by the end of November.
He added that any councillor who wants to bring “their own brand of in-fighting” will not be welcome.
Dartford rural KCC councillor Jeremy Kite said it wouldn't have made any difference to himself had he received the message
In the video he continued: “But I do believe the vast majority of them are decent men and women who believe in very similar values to me and to a party with a membership of 93,000 and growing by the hundreds every single day.”
A Reform UK spokesman seemed puzzled when given the feedback from Kent Tories.
He said: “It might have gone into their junk folder. That seems to have happened to a few people who have been in contact.
“We have had plenty of responses from people around the country and we are now in discussions with them.”