Nigel Farage only offers voters the same “chaos” that marked the Tories’ 14 years in power, a senior cabinet minister has told HuffPost UK.
Pat McFadden hit out as the Reform UK leader used his New Year message to urge more people to join his “people’s army”.
Farage’s party has enjoyed a surge in support since the general election, when it received more than four million votes and had five MPs elected.
It has also seen its membership numbers overtake the Tories - sparking a bitter war of words with Kemi Badenoch.
But McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said Farage is simply tapping into public cynicism about politics and offer nothing in the way of actual policies.
He said: “He will of course, in a world where the electorate is sceptical, try and thrive on that disillusionment and it’s fine to go out there and reflect and amplify anger.
“But unless you’re delivering something it’s just continuity chaos and we had years of chaos. Unless they come up with something to deliver, I think that’s all they’ll offer.”
In his New Year message, recorded at Winston Churchill’s birthplace, Blenheim Palace, Farage painted a gloomy picture of the UK - and insisted Reform UK had the answers to the problems facing the country.
He said: “The fish rots from the head down. We’ve been appallingly led in this country now for several decades.
“We’re in societal decline, we’re in economic decline, most people are getting poorer with every year that passes, we’re losing any sense of national identity and we’re actually teaching kids at school that people like Winston Churchill – born in this palace – are bad people and that our country’s history is something to be ashamed of.”
He added: “I think what Reform offers for 2025 is exciting. I know it is because the other parties are going absolutely mad.
“They’re throwing accusations around and I’ve no doubt that will get tougher throughout the course of 2025. But we know what we believe in, we’ve enthused millions of people in this country.
“And I want to say this to you. If you agree with that we’re trying to do, don’t just sit back and nod, do something about it. Join those 150,000 who’ve already joined our party.
“Because I promise you this: the only way we win, the only way we mend broken Britain, the only way we get reform in our country, which so badly needs it, is if you who agrees with us join our people’s army.”
