Nigel Farage is the surprise toast of the Tory conference afterparties: Brexit champion dances with Priti Patel as Conservatives line up to schmooze him and demand he is allowed to rejoin the party amid talk of a political comeback
- They duetted on Frank Sinatra’s I Love You Baby, hours after he backed Liz Truss
Nigel Farage fuelled ongoing rumours of a political comeback as he sang and danced with former home secretary Priti Patel at a boozy Tory Conference bash.
The grinning former minister and the ex-Brexit Party leader duetted on Frank Sinatra’s I Love You Baby, hours after he had given visible and vocal support to Liz Truss’s attack on Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
Farage, who is now a commentator for GB News, has been a visible presence at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, which he is attending on a media pass.
It is his first attendance for a decade and he has refused to rule out a return to frontline politics. And it has prompted calls from some Tory MPs for him to rejoin the party 30 years after he quit over support for the Maastricht Treaty.
Litchfield’s Michael Fabricant told GB News: ‘I think we should get on our hands and knees and beg him [to rejoin], we should award him with a knighthood that he should have had years ago.’
Tim Montgomerie, a former speechwriter for William Hague who is now a columnist, tweeted: ‘I into Conference earlier with Nigel Farage. He got quite the reception. I’m convinced party members would choose him as leader if they could.’
The grinning former home secretary and the ex-Brexit Party leader duetted on Frank Sinatra’s I Love You Baby, hours after he had given visible and vocal support to Liz Truss ‘s attack on Rishi Sunak ‘s leadership.
It is his first attendance for a decade and it prompted calls from some Tory MPs for him to rejoin the party 30 years after he quit over support for the Maastricht Treaty.
Mr Farage and the former cabinet minister were the life and soul of the party organised by GB News at the Hilton Hotel.
The former Brexit Party leader had been front and centre at a rally led by the ex-prime minister at the Conservative Party conference yesterday.
Ms Truss used the Great British Growth Rally to demand tax cuts, cuts to household bills and a surge in housebuilding to kickstart an economic revival.
Afterwards Mr Farage, who wore a pair of Union Jack socks, said he agreed with her ideas ‘100 per cent’ and that her disastrous mini-Budget last year ‘played all the right notes, just in the wrong order’, a reference to a 1970s Morecambe and Wise gag.
‘I think what they did to her was a huge, huge mistake,’ he told the Telegraph. ‘It’s policy that interests me. I think this woman has shown that she’s able to stand up, take the abuse and fight for what she believes in.’
Mr Farage, who was mobbed by fans when he arrived at the Manchester convention centre hosting the Tories, also refused to rule out a return to politics himself.
The former Brexit Party leader was front and centre at a rally led by the ex-prime minister at the Conservative Party conference today, as he made his first appearance at the event in a decade
Mr Farage, who was mobbed by fans when he arrived at the Manchester convention centre hosting the Tories, also refused to rule out a return to politics himself.
He has previously spoken at fringe events, including a 2013 speech to the Eurosceptic Bruges Group.
But he came inside the secure zone reserved for paying party members, activists and business leaders to attend the Liz Truss event alongside Dame Priti and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Mr Farage tweeted: ‘A huge buzz at the Great British Growth rally starring Liz Truss. I think she’s going to need a bigger room!’
There were cheers in the room when party members were reminded how Liz Truss was elected by them – unlike Rishi Sunak.
Ms Truss, appearing on stage smiling and to loud applause, called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut corporation tax in November’s autumn statement – something he is resisting doing.
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