Unionists should focus on Nigel Farage's 'anti-European Union' stance to get Reform UK's support on Irish Sea border - Sammy Wilson

Sammy Wilson says that while Reform UK is an “English-based party”, the government “using Northern Ireland as an excuse” to reset the UK's relationship with the EU has shown the former Brexit Party leader that the Windsor Framework is a “trojan horse”.

The East Antrim MP's comments come as Reform swept to power in 10 councils across England, winning 677 English council seats and a parliamentary by election in Runcorn.

Asked by the News Letter how serious Nigel Farage is about the Union, Mr Wilson said the “damaging” actions taken by the EU would be a more attractive argument for unionists to pitch to the Reform leader.

“Let's face it, they're an English based party basically, and therefore they concentrate more on English issues. However, I think that his total anger and opposition to the EU will probably give him reason to focus on the EU's intervention in Northern Ireland”.

He said it would not be an ‘I’m dead pro-union’ approach from Mr Farage – rather “anti-European Union”.

The DUP MP argued that Mr Farage’s approach would be “if the European Union is damaging, and I can take a swipe at them through the protocol and the Windsor Framework, then I'll take them on”.

“That's the appeal that think as unionists we've got to make to him. Not that ‘we want you to be another Northern Ireland unionist party’, but we want you to be a party which has got national influence, and uses that national influence, and what's happening in Northern Ireland, to have a go at the EU”, he said.

Broken pledges by the Tories on immigration - as well as the proliferation of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and net zero policies during 15 years of Conservative government resulted in the Reform surge, according to the DUP MP.

“There was nobody went after it [net zero] harder than the Conservatives did – and boasted about it.

“On the immigration criticisms they [Reform] make of the government at present, they oversaw a big influx, and were ineffective in getting legislation through about it. So I think that Reform capitalised on that discontent with the Tories’ own voter base, which the Tories must have known about.

“Even the fact that can't get their own people like to work for them is an indication that their own party is just fed up with them.

“As Nigel Farage said to me, the real test for his party will come once they start winning elections, and then they'll come under minute scrutiny. You can be sure that where the press maybe overlooked some of the faults of both the main parties, they will magnify the faults of Reform if they perform badly.

“Now that they’ve won 10 councils, you have plenty of scope to look at their performance. That's three and a half years from another election, a lot can change over that period of time”, he said.

Reform has also pledged to cut spending on diversity and net zero schemes in local government. However, outgoing council leaders have said Reform will be unable to make the kind of changes in these areas - or on the delivery of public services - that they have pledged.

Mr Wilson said there would be resistance in councils to some of their policies. “If you've got a majority on a council, providing you can hold your nerve and use that majority, then you can push things through.

“That'll be the test for them”.