Boris Johnson would not be welcomed into Reform UK, Nigel Farage has said, warning that his failures in government will not be forgiven.
The Reform leader said the ex-prime minister joining his insurgent right-wing party “would not really work”, despite some of Mr Johnson’s most ardent supporters switching allegiance.
“The Boris wave, millions of people being allowed into Britain, most of whom don’t even work and are costing us a fortune, that is something for which this audience will never, ever forgive him,” Mr Farage told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
He said Mr Johnson is “a very entertaining bloke … and I like him”, but ruled out allowing Mr Johnson into the Reform fold.
It came after Nadine Dorries, who defected to Reform at the party’s conference in Birmingham, said “the biggest egos in British politics” should join forces to bring down Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
The former cabinet minister said Mr Johnson and Mr Farage should “find some way to accommodate each other’s egos and to coexist for the sake of the country”.
Ms Dorries, who was one of Mr Johnson’s most fervent supporters, told the Mail’s Alas Vine and Hitchens podcast: “We need all the political talents on the right of centre putting their shoulder to what needs to be done for the country.”
The alternative, she warned, is an “unholy alliance” of Jeremy Corbyn, the Green Party, and even a resurgent Angela Rayner following her resignation as deputy prime minister.
Going further than Mr Farage in denouncing Mr Johnson, Zia Yusuf described him as “one of the worst prime ministers in British history” and accused him of betraying Brexit voters.
Reform UK’s head of policy told Sky News the former Conservative leader would never be welcome in his party.
“We certainly would not welcome Boris Johnson – that’s never going to happen,” he said.
“He threw open our borders. The Boris wave, which is millions and millions of non-EU migrants flooding into the country post-Brexit, betrayed every single person that voted Brexit.
“Frankly, he was one of the worst prime ministers in British history.”
The term “Boris wave” is used by Reform UK figures to describe the surge in legal immigration following post-Brexit visa policies introduced under Mr Johnson from January 2021.
Mr Farage said Ms Dorries’s defection was significant because of her experience in government, admitting it is an area Reform is currently struggling with.
He added: “You can ask me lots of questions about policy and personnel and all the rest of it, but if you ask me, how are you going to do this? I can’t really give you an answer, because I haven’t got anybody in the senior team that’s ever been there before.
“Nadine came yesterday. She’s the first, and there will be others.”
