CONFIDENT Nigel Farage hopes to raise a glass to a “Reform-quake” at tomorrow’s local elections — and insists he will never surrender his boozy lunches in the quest for power.
The political maverick, whose party hold a three per cent opinion poll lead over Labour, says Sir Keir Starmer is “really scared” of Reform UK’s advances across the country.
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Mr Farage, 60, is scenting blood as he travels widely to drum up support and says Reform — who won five seats in last year’s General Election and got more than four million votes — are doing “very, very well”.
The public, he adds, are receptive to his ideas for an Australia-style deportation plan and, like him, have no time for Net Zero or the failure to make the most of Brexit.
Asked if the UK will be rocked by a Reform earthquake at the polls, he replies: “A Reform-quake?
“That’s what they’re calling it.
“I don’t know.
“What I do know is the advances we’ve made since the general election have been extraordinary.
“The Labour victory last summer was a loveless victory.
“I think you’re probably going to see our strongest results in areas where Labour won a lot of seats in the general election.
“I’m talking about the Derbyshires, the Nottinghamshires and in particular about County Durham, where we’re doing very, very well indeed.
“And, who knows?
“There’s also a by-election taking place in Labour’s 16th safest seat of Runcorn and Helsby.
“So, yeah, I think Labour are really scared.”
Reform are up one per cent in the latest YouGov poll at 26 per cent [they got 14.3 per cent at the election].
Labour are unchanged at 23 per cent while the Conservatives are stuck on 20 per cent.
Reform is favourite to take Runcorn and Helsby, which PM Mr Starmer is yet to visit in the by-election campaign, hundreds of council and two mayoral seats.
Yesterday, Mr Farage shared a joke in Scunthorpe with Greater Lincolnshire mayoral candidate, and former Conservative MP, Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
He admits that she, and hundreds of others representing Reform, face a “big hurdle” tomorrow.
But he adds: “If we clear it successfully, that puts us on the path to the next general election, albeit there are other hurdles to clear”,
“How we deal on Thursday will make a material difference to our party’s development.
“It matters.”
Mr Farage said that the issues dominating his conversations with voters have been immigration, Net Zero and next month’s summit with the European Union.
He said: “I believe that Net Zero is the next Brexit.
“By that I mean an issue where Westminster is completely detached from common-sense people around the country.”
On illegal immigration, he says: “Over 10,000 unaccompanied young men have come into the country already this year.
“If we’re in government, they’ll be deported.
“Australia did this in 2012.
“We have the model.”
He is concerned about the UK-EU summit in London with the suggested youth mobility being freedom of movement by the back door and the surrender of fishing rights.
Mr Farage, who has spent 30 years in the public eye, reckons he could one day become Prime Minister and improve the lot of Brits.
He adds: “I am very bullish.
“I am very optimistic.
“I believe with the right leadership, you can turn things around.”
But surely the boozy lunches would be out the window if he entered Number 10.
Before bursting into peels of laughter, he says seriously: “Never.
“Absolutely not.”