By Eniola Amadu
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party could pose a “threat to the union” between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the chair of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, Paul Leeman, has warned.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Leeman said there was a “big concern” about Reform UK, which has been challenging both the Conservative and Labour parties in recent opinion polls.
He questioned Reform’s commitment to Northern Ireland, citing remarks made by Mr Farage earlier in the summer.
The Reform leader had said in August that he would seek to “renegotiate” the Good Friday Agreement in order to enable the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Farage added that the process would “take longer” in Northern Ireland and later commented that the region would “not be at the forefront” of the party’s proposals. The policy was outlined as part of Reform’s immigration strategy.
When asked by BBC News NI whether he viewed Reform as a threat to the Conservatives, Leeman replied: “I see it as a threat possibly more to the union of Northern Ireland, when you heard Nigel Farage said Northern Ireland will just have to wait. That doesn’t cut it. Northern Ireland cannot wait. It has to be all or nothing. And I don’t really think they care.”
He further questioned the implications of Reform’s ECHR stance, asking: “What he talked about with the ECHR, what does that mean?”
The warning came as the Conservative Party sought to rebuild support during its annual conference, with a series of policy announcements aimed at energising members and addressing recent electoral challenges.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to close the conference on Wednesday with a keynote address.
Her speech follows a slip during a pre-conference interview last week in which she mistakenly said Northern Ireland “voted to leave” the European Union.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Ms Badenoch said, “the last time I checked, Northern Ireland did vote to leave,” a claim that was later corrected.
In the 2016 referendum, Northern Ireland voted by 56 per cent to 44 per cent to remain in the EU, while the UK overall voted 52 cent to 48 cent to leave.
When pressed, Ms Badenoch acknowledged her error, saying, “a lot of people in Northern Ireland voted to remain, you’re right.”
Jason Reid, deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, described the remark as “a bit of a gaffe” but defended Ms Badenoch’s record.
“I think Kemi would admit herself that was a mistake, a bit of a gaffe of course,” he said. “With the amount of stuff she’s having to get in her head to speak about here, I think that is something we can possibly overlook.”
Despite its affiliation with the UK-wide party, the Conservative Party has no elected representatives in Northern Ireland and has polled less than 1% of the vote in recent elections.
Other major parties in Great Britain, including Labour, also do not stand candidates in Northern Ireland’s elections.
