If the Right can’t unite, Starmer will change Britain beyond recognition

I share the frustration of so many Conservative voters – but a vote for Reform is a vote for a Labour supermajority

If the polls are accurate, our great country is sleepwalking into a very dangerous future. In just 19 days’ time, the UK could be run by more than 500 Left-wing MPs. We are on the brink of a one-party state that will change our country for the worse.

How have we ended up with the imminent prospect of a socialist takeover that nobody asked for? The simple answer is because the Right-wing commonsense vote is fatally divided between the Conservatives and Reform. Our first-past-the-post electoral system means that Reform splits the “small c” conservative voting bloc, and provides Labour with a majority so large, they can change our country for a generation.

Despite the Conservative Party and Reform’s combined vote share being on level pegging with Labour’s, it is not implausible that 85 per cent of our elected MPs could come from the Left. Even in the most optimistic of scenarios, Reform can only win a handful of seats – while costing Conservative MPs who have strived for lower taxation and reduced immigration their seats to Labour.

So, today I am appealing to heads over hearts. I have immense sympathy for those natural conservatives who feel let down and drawn to Reform. Not only do I understand their frustrations, I share many of them. The tax burden is too high, criminal justice system too soft and public services too inefficient. My disagreements with the Government on immigration policy meant I resigned from the Cabinet.

But, ultimately, a vote for Reform will only give Labour a blank cheque to take our country back to the 1970s.

Some voters feel so angry with the Tories that a Labour landslide is a price they are willing to pay. Again, I have great sympathy with their frustrations and know that we must meet the British public’s expectations. That is the task I have dedicated myself to since resigning. But don’t be fooled by Labour’s cautious public posture. Extreme ideas that Starmer and the Labour establishment are wily enough to hide from view will quickly come to the fore when left unopposed.

Take illegal migration. The best way to stop migrants crossing the Channel is to detain and swiftly deport anyone who comes here illegally. But Starmer’s policy could soon be: if you come here illegally from a safe country like France, you can kick back and stay.

A Labour Party with an elective dictatorship will be equally unrestrained on raising taxes. Labour can’t rule out raising fuel duty, council tax, capital gains tax or even road pricing.

And there are so many more dangers. More expensive and unaccountable government quangos. The proliferation of toxic diversity, equity and inclusion policies that divide and discriminate against hard-working people. A foreign policy that puts Davos man first and British workers last. Not to forget the likely surrender of our independent trade and regulatory policy to Brussels.

The effect of these changes would be disastrous. So we must fight against them while we have the chance. And I believe we still can. Anyone who has spent time on the doorstep knows there are millions of commonsense conservatives still weighing up how to vote in this election. I am convinced they do not want our country run by Labour unopposed.

And this is why voting Reform cannot be the answer. It can only bring about a government that increases taxes and immigration. Their success can only weaken the conservative movement. The Right cannot unify after the election if there is no meaningful force in Parliament to coalesce around.

Our task is to make conservatives across Britain aware of this peril. If we can do that, and make the case that only a vote for the Conservative Party can prevent a calamitous one-party state come July 5, then we can avert disaster. And at the same time, we must rediscover our roots and build the truly conservative alternative our country needs and millions yearn for.