Cleverly claims that the Conservatives remain the largest party on the Right.3 hours agoKate WhannelPolitical ReporterBBCShaddow housing secretary, Sir James Cleverly, has claimed that Reform are not a centre-right party, but rather a “cult” of personalities, adding: “Nigel Farage is not policy, being angry about stuff is not policy.” Cleverly told Laura Kuenssberg on BBC that the Tories supported “reducing taxes, funding the armed services, and making sure we liberate business”. Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform, told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that his party’s electoral victory was a “seismic quake in British politics”. Reform won more than 1,450 seats in councils and took control of 14 councils on Thursday. This was not only in areas traditionally held by Labour, such as Sunderland or Barnsley, but also in areas held by the Conservatives. It also came second at the Welsh Parliament Elections and tied for second with Labour in Scotland. Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, said on Friday that there had been “historic shifts in vote” and that “the old ideas of left or right have literally been blown away in the last 24-hours.” “Tice said that his party had been under “more scrutiny” than any other party before, adding: “But it’s interesting that despite the scrutiny, and the attacks against Nigel, me, our candidates, our councils, the voters have said we want more Reform.” “Elections 2026 – Follow updates and reactions liveAt a Glance: Election Results So FarWhat latest election results tell us in maps and chartsSir John Curtice : Election results show that politics in the UK is fragmentedSupport of the Conservatives in England dropped by 11 points in comparison to 2022 when the last round of local elections took place. The party lost over half of the seats that it was defending, and did particularly poorly in areas where Reform votes were highest. It did make gains, regaining its traditional strongholds of Westminster and Wandsworth in London, which Labour had taken in previous elections. Sir James, the Tory leader who lost to Kemi Badenoch for 2024, said that everyone, including Kemi Badenoch, would have liked to see more progress. But, remember, we are less than two years away from a significant electoral defeat and nobody expects us to turn this around overnight. “He said that he was “absolutely certain” that his party would win seats at the next election. “I’m absolutely confident that we will see an acceleration in support for the Conservatives. Previous Conservative voters will return to us, and new voters who are considering alternatives will come to us. “He accused other parties, Reform included, of “doing a pick and mix of populist policy”. “Reform doesn’t know what they stand for on the welfare bill. They don’t have a spokesperson in defence… they don’t deliver a centre-right or right-wing position. “We’ve seen this with Reform and we will again see it, and also with the Greens. When they get elected, they let down the voters and these voters start to reject them. “The Green Party of England & Wales made significant gains, taking control of the seats in London Norwich and Hastings. Zack Polanski, the party leader, said on Friday that two-party politics were “dead and gone”. “It is very clear that the Green Party and Reform are the new political parties,” he said. Sign up for the Politics Essential Newsletter to stay up-to-date with the inner workings at Westminster and beyond.Conservative PartyRichard TiceReform UKJames Claeverly
