Nigel Farage: ‘I will be Tory leader by 2026’

Ex Ukip leader boasts he will take over Conservatives ‘within three years’

Nigel Farage has said he could soon be leading the Conservatives, amid speculation that he might be set to re-join Rishi Sunak's party.

The former Ukip leader was one of the star attractions at the Tory conference in Manchester earlier this month, speaking at a fringe event and being mobbed by fans.

The Brexiteer has previously teased the idea that he could rejoin the party he left in the 1990s over the question of the European Union.

And Mr Sunak earlier this month hinted that Mr Farage would be welcome back in the told, stating that the party was a "broad church".

Speaking at a book launch in Westminster on Tuesday Mr Farage told the PoliticsHome website that he would soon be doing Mr Sunak's job.

Teasing Conservative MPs present at the event, the former Ukip leader initially said he was serious but later said he was joking.

“I’d be very surprised if I were not Conservative leader by ‘26. Very surprised," he told the website.

“They think I’m joking," he said, referring to others present, adding: "I’m serious.”

He later tried to row back on his comments and said they were meant “in jest”.

Mr Farage quit the Tories 30 years ago over the Maastricht Treaty, which John Major signed Britain up to.

This year's was the first conference he has attended since 1988. A previous attempt in 2013 to attend the party gathering was blocked by the party.

Mr Farage is a controversial figure and views on him differ, even in the Tory party. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a staunch Brexiteer, has said his party should "roll out the red carpet" for the ex-Brexit party leader if he ever wanted to rejoin.

But party chairman Greg Hands appeared to be less impressed earlier this month, saying the former Ukip leader had campaigned against the Tories for years and was not invested in their success.

Party leader Mr Sunak himself told broadcaster GB News: "Look, the Tory party is a broad church. I welcome lots of people who want to subscribe to our ideals, to our values."

Mr Farage himself has played hot and cold with the idea of rejoining. He also told GB News this month that the Tories were  “a social democrat party in all but name” with “big-state, high-tax” policies. On the question of rejoining he also told the broadcaster: “the answer is no, I will not.”