𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Brexit could not have become reality without both Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage making the case for Britain leaving the UK – and Reform UK and the Conservatives will need one another to rescue the country. This is the belief of Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Leader of the Commons who argues it is “absolutely essential” the two tribes come together.

Sir Jacob speaks of both Mr Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch with admiration, and believes the Reform leader deserved an honour for making Brexit a reality.

As the leader of UKIP, Mr Farage made the case for leaving the EU long before it was considered a possibility by mainstream politicians. And by standing down his Brexit Party candidates in Tory-held seats he helped Mr Johnson secure his landslide win in the 2019 “get Brexit done” election.

“Oh, he should definitely have been given a seat in the House of Lords,” Sir Jacob said. “He deserves one. I mean, I’d give him a dukedom if that’s what he wanted.”

Looking back at the 2016 referendum campaign, he said: “I think that both Boris and Nigel Farage were essential.”

Summing up their combined contribution, he said Mr Johnson “brought an enormous charisma and an appeal to people who wouldn’t normally classify themselves as being on the Right” while Mr Farage “brought the Red Wall, the Labour voters, the people who are a bit suspicious of the Tories”.

Casting his gaze forward to the 2029 election, he is keen to avoid a split Right.

“I think it’s absolutely essential that we come together,” he said. “I think both parties need each other. I think Reform needs the institutional knowledge of the Conservative Party of how government works… On the other hand, the Conservatives need to refresh themselves by showing that we are in touch with the issues that matter, which we weren’t when we were last in government.”

The general election due in 2029 could be as significant to the country’s future as the 1979 contest which saw Margaret Thatcher come to power, he argues.

Sir Jacob lost his seat at the last election but he would love to return to frontline politics.

“Oh, I’d love to be involved,” he said. The full Sunday Express Big Interview with Sir Jacob can be read here.