The Tories have taken aim at Reform UK today, with the Conservative Party chair singling out party leader Richard Tice on social media.
The row first erupted when Conservative deputy chair Jonathan Gullis criticised Mr Tice and his selection of Reform candidates in the Mail On Sunday.
Mr Tice responded on social media: “With a special Easter message to Tory MP Jonathan Gullis: Given the multiple bits of embarrassing personal information we have on you, I suggest you pipe down on your attacks against me.”
Richard Holden, chair of the Conservative Party, rebuked Mr Tice: “What a threatening bully Richard Tice is exposing himself to be. Silly man.”
Mark Jenkinson, a government whip, echoed this sentiment, claiming Mr Tice was “not just a political weathervane, but also a thin-skinned bully – who knew?”.
The Tories are seemingly rattled following a series of devastating polls this week, with many MPs terrified about the rise of Reform.
The tension escalated earlier this month when one of Mr Gullis’s predecessors as deputy chair, Lee Anderson, defected from the Conservatives to Reform.
Earlier this week, the Conservatives were overtaken by Reform UK among working-class voters, leading Nigel Farage to declare a “historic opportunity” to replace the Tories.
The news went from bad to worse for the Tories and Rishi Sunak, as a new poll overnight showed an almost complete collapse in support for the ruling party.
The poll, carried out by Survation on behalf of Best for Britain, showed Conservatives falling below 100 seats in parliament after the next election.
Cabinet Ministers at risk of being ousted include Home Secretary James Cleverly, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary Mark Harper and Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt.
Even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is at risk of losing his constituency of Richmond and Northallerton, with a projected lead of just 2.5 over Labour in the seat.
The analysis, which polled 15,029 people, found that Reform UK could cost the Tories around 50 seats as they pull voters away from the Conservatives.
This could see Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party on course for a landslide, winning 468 seats.
