Reform wouldn’t take Tory reject, Farage says as he calls for voters who think he’s a crook to get rid of him

Nigel Farage has said he would not accept former Tory cabinet minister Grant Shapps if he tried to join Reform after being rejected as a Conservative candidate. The Reform UK leader has claimed “Reform wouldn’t take him” if the former defence secretary approached him about a role in the party. Mr Shapps has been blocked from standing for the Conservatives at the next general election, it emerged this week. The veteran Tory lost his Welwyn Hatfield seat to Labour by 3,799 seats in 2024. Farage’s party has welcomed former cabinet ministers Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman among a string of Tory defectors in recent years. In an interview with The Telegraph, Mr Farage claimed “a couple” of other former Conservatives have sought private conversations with him, only to be told: “I’m busy.” open image in gallery Former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps (PA Archive) The Tories and Labour have refused to field candidates in the Clacton by-election triggered . The move has been branded a “desperate stunt” . Instead he will face a record 33 rival candidates, leaving joke candidate Count Binface and actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox as his highest-profile opponents. However he insisted the battle for the Essex seat is not a “farce” and he is submitting himself to public vote. “And if those voters really think I’m a crook or a bad dude, they can get rid of me,” he added. The parliamentary standards watchdog is currently looking into whether Mr Farage should have declared a £5m gift from Thailand-based crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne before he was an MP. The inquiry was later widened to look at whether he should have declared support from his friend and convicted criminal George Cottrell. open image in gallery Farage triggered a by-election amid an investigation into his finances and backers (PA) Challenged over the scandals, he said: “I’ve certainly been judged guilty already .” However he added: “All right, perhaps I should have filled in a piece of paper. If that’s the worst thing I’ve done in life – not filling in a form – I would say that’s not too bad.” He claims his lawyers advised him that no declaration was required. He insisted: “I haven’t broken the law. I haven’t avoided tax. I haven’t misused public money. I haven’t bought a motorhome. I’ve barely claimed a penny. The Vauxhall driver appeared to swear out of her window at the Reform leader before running into the back of a BMW that had stopped at a red light.