Tories must embrace Nigel Farage after defeat, says ex-Wrexham MP

The Conservative Party would not be where it is now after a landslide defeat if it had “embraced” Nigel Farage, a former Tory minister has said.

Sarah Atherton, who won Wrexham in 2019 but lost her seat to Labour on Thursday, said the now Reform UK leader should have been brought into the Tory fold “in some way”, such as becoming an MP or peer.

She said Rishi Sunak’s defeated government had not listened to MPs on immigration “and when they realised it was the key issue on the doorsteps, it was too late”.

Meanwhile, a new Welsh Labour MP has said change under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would take time, “but rest assured that work has started already”.

Claire Hughes, who won in Bangor Aberconwy with a majority of nearly 5,000, told Newyddion S4C there was not a “burning enthusiasm” for politicians after 14 years of Conservative government.

“I spoke to thousands of people on the doorstep during the campaign who told me they had lost trust in politics and in politicians in particular,” said the Labour MP

“I don’t think there any love letters being written to politicians but that why we’re here now to rebuild that trust.”

Asked when people could expect to see change, Ms Hughes said: “It won’t be overnight, but rest assured that work has started already.”

Ms Atherton was one of the Tories who were all defeated in Wales last Thursday, as the party saw its 2019 total of 14 MPs reduced to none.

Wrexham was among the swathe of north-east Wales seats that returned to Labour this time after five years with a Conservative MP.

Ms Atherton, speaking to BBC Wales as she cleared out her Westminster office, said of Mr Farage, who is now the MP for Clacton: “He’s a very successful politician, you cannot argue that and he certainly was instrumental within Brexit.

“I think Nigel Farage should have been embraced within the party. At what position and where that would be debatable, but he should have been embraced.

“We certainly, I don’t think, would have been in this position right now if we’d have done that.”

Ms Atherton said immigration was the “key issue” in her patch and Reform UK “really took my votes” .

“If I’d have had the Reform vote I would have won,” said Ms Atherton.

She lost to Labour’s Andrew Ranger, who had a 5,948 majority. The Reform candidate in Wrexham received 6,915 votes.

“They [the government] did not listen to us [MPs] on immigration and when they realised it was the key issue on the doorsteps, it was too late.”

Ms Atherton said a lot of Reform members in Wrexham were ex-Conservatives and had spoken to her at the election count.

“They said we haven’t turned to Reform, you’ve made us go to Reform because you didn’t listen, Brexit was about controlling borders and you didn’t do that.

“We need to look at what we promised the people when I was elected in 2019 and adhere to that, and that means immigration and that means moving centre right.”

Ms Atherton, an armed forces veteran, criticised Mr Sunak’s decision to leave D-Day commemorations early, as well as the timing of the election.

She said cuts in energy prices and mortgage rates happened during the campaign, but “that did not cut through at all”.