Farage would be a welcome member of the Tory party, says Sunak

Nigel Farage made a surprise appearance at a number of Tory conference events. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP

Nigel Farage will be welcomed by the Conservative Party, Rishi Sunak suggested after the former Ukip leader attended the Tory conference in Manchester.

Prime Minister -Minister said the Tories were a «broad church» following Farage's surprise appearances at a number of fringe events. These included a gala dinner hosted by the Conservative Democratic Organization (CDO), founded by Boris Johnson's allies after he left Downing Street, and a pro-growth rally addressed by Liz Truss, predecessor Mr Sunak.

Mr Farage, who has campaigned against successive Tory governments on Brexit, climate policy and immigration levels, said he was «100 per cent» behind Ms Truss's calls for immediate tax cuts.

Asked by GB News if he would welcome Mr Farage back into the Conservative fold, Mr Sunak replied: “The Tory party — a very wide church.”

“I welcome a lot of people who want to subscribe to our values, and I'm excited about the fact that I'm bringing value to the country and more people. As I've seen at this conference, we have record attendance.»

While Mr Farage warmly welcomed Mr Sunak's announcement last week that a range of net-zero emissions measures would delayed or relaxed, he called recent car support policies, including measures to cut low-traffic areas, «half-hearted.» /p>

«It's all very reactive — he could have stopped Ulez's extension if he wanted and fought Sadiq Khan in the judicial review, but he chose not to,» he told The Telegraph. «Even on motoring issues he is still indecisive.»

Saying that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's keynote speech on Monday «went down like a lead balloon», Mr Farage added: «The word I would I wanted to use it absolutely sadly. These people want to believe in something. They want to believe in ideas, and that's why Liz Truss's meeting was so exciting — it was about ideas.

“I think essentially the Starmer implosion is their best hope, but really I'm I don't see this happening. I think this conference is about which wing of the party will come to power after the election defeat. That's what marginality is all about.»

Suggesting that some Tory MPs are still working to undermine Brexit, Mr Farage said: «Essentially, the Leave or Remain issue is still playing out within the Conservative Party. .