Lord Heseltine attacks Badenoch's new policies - and calls Farage a 'phoney'

Michael Heseltine rolled backmost the years with a blistering onslaught astatine the Tory league connected Kemi Badenoch's caller policies connected quality rights, asylum seekers and clime change.

The 92-year-old erstwhile lawman premier curate besides bitterly attacked Nigel Farage, appearing to comparison Reform UK and different right-wing parties successful Europe to the fascists of the 1930s.

The Conservative peer, nicknamed 'Tarzan' erstwhile helium was the darling of the Tory faithful during the premierships of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, told Sky News helium was attending the Conservative Party league for the archetypal clip since 1997.

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He spoke astatine a European Movement fringe gathering alongside erstwhile Liberal Democrat MP Sir Nick Harvey, and demonstrated that his pro-European views stay arsenic beardown arsenic ever.

Lord Heseltine began his code by denouncing right-wing parties "on the march" successful Europe, including Reform, arsenic among the "right-wing equivalents of the fascists successful the '30s".

And helium added later: "We volition never, never, person immoderate portion successful the populist extremism of Nigel Farage. We person to woody with President Trump for the adjacent 3 years, we don't privation his mouthpiece anyplace adjacent Number 10."

The seasoned adjacent besides powerfully attacked Ms Badenoch's caller policy, announced connected Sunday, of withdrawing the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court.

"If immoderate changes are required, the worst happening is to locomotion retired and crook our backmost connected 1 of the astir civilised of European creations," helium said.

"The close mode is to travel David Cameron's illustration and question alteration by agreement, arsenic helium did successful 2012 with the Brighton Declaration.

"It is much than imaginable that the wide concerns astir asylum seekers crossed Europe would marque a reappraisal invited to galore signatories."

Secondly, Lord Heseltine criticised Ms Badenoch's caller policy, besides announced astatine the weekend, of deporting 150,000 migrants a year and accused elder Tories of demonising asylum seekers.

"The overwhelming bulk of asylum seekers privation to stock successful our standards, and to flight from persecution oregon civilian war," helium said.

"To picture them arsenic thieves oregon rapists is not conscionable dishonest, but encourages the worst benignant of prejudice successful our communities."

And thirdly, helium attacked the existent Tory leadership's argumentation of scrapping clime alteration targets and c taxes, claiming it was Margaret Thatcher who archetypal warned astir planetary warming.

"The menace from planetary warming indispensable not beryllium ignored successful the anticipation that it whitethorn not hap oregon due to the fact that determination is simply a backlash against the cost," helium said.

"We should beryllium arrogant of our relation successful the conflict to halt clime change. It was Margaret Thatcher who gave 1 of the starkest and earliest warnings of the dangers.

"Today the grounds successful storms, coastal erosion, flooding, occurrence and the dispersed of godforsaken is each excessively clear.

"It would beryllium an enactment of unforgivable irresponsibility to undo each that Conservatives person done to play a starring relation successful this world-threatening crisis."

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Quoting polling grounds showing debased numbers of Conservative voters among young people, helium said: "A stark informing comes erstwhile you look astatine the property radical of the contiguous Conservative supporters and spot however weighted it is towards older voters.

"I privation to spot the predetermination of different Tory government.

"I judge determination are 5 wide issues that they indispensable address: the defence of the realm; the restoration of spot and assurance successful our economy; the regularisation of law; the menace to our situation from pollution, planetary warming and clime change; and the restoration of British power successful the world.

"This is an docket that should entreaty to the younger electorate that volition beryllium successful spot by the adjacent election."

In a Sky News interrogation aft his fringe meeting, Lord Heseltine said helium wasn't amazed by our YouGov canvass showing 50% of Tory members privation Ms Badenoch replaced, and a bulk of them privation a pact with Reform UK.

"She's taken connected a precise hard concern and successful precise hard satellite circumstances," helium said. "The problems she has inherited are not her responsibility, and it's bound to instrumentality time."

And connected the imaginable of Mr Farage becoming premier minister, Lord Heseltine told Sky News: "I can't deliberation of thing that would beryllium much damaging for British prestige passim the world.

"He's a populist. He doesn't truly person policies. He's an actor. When helium started connected the journey, we ne'er saw him without a pint of brew successful his manus due to the fact that helium wanted to equate to the working-class radical successful struggle.

"Then determination was a disorder implicit farming, and helium turned up wearing apparel similar a farmer. He's conscionable a phoney."