Why this right-wing row could be a gift to Keir Starmer

In brief...

• Nigel Farage blames the West for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Boris Johnson criticises Farage's stance as "Kremlin propaganda."
• The conflict between Farage and Johnson could divide right-wing voters, potentially benefiting the Labour Party in the upcoming General Election.
• Farage tries to distance himself from the negative outcomes of Brexit by blaming Johnson for a "bad" Brexit, highlighting ongoing tensions between the two Brexit architects.

The Brexit-boys are bickering, with Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson seemingly falling out over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It’s fairly straightforward stuff, but could this upset between the Reform UK leader and the previous Conservative Prime Minister spell problems for the UK’s right-wing politics, and even present a new opportunity for the left?

What’s happened so far?

It all kicked off when Farage spoke with the BBC’s Nick Robinson for a Panorama election special. During the interview, he said the west was to blame for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a stance he later defended in a column written for The Telegraph newspaper.

Johnson, who has been very public with his support for Ukraine and President Zelensky, described Farage’s words as: "ahistorical drivel and more Kremlin propaganda."

Farage's alleged relationship with Russia then became a front-page story in The Mail on Sunday, in which he was described as an "ally" of Russia by a spokesperson for the Kremlin.

Furious at this, Farage threw the accusation back at the right-wing newspaper, saying it was "collaborating" with Russia and only running the story to protect the "dying" Conservative Party, accusing it of "election interference.

What's the relationship between Farage and Johnson?

Both Farage and Johnson were key figures in the campaign for Brexit, with Farage leading the Brexit Party for two years. The Brexit Party is now known as Reform UK.

And there have been whisperings of both Farage and Johnson joining the Conservative benches in the future, with certain Tories saying they would welcome him into the party, and the former PM saying in Spring 2024 that he would return if he had "something to contribute".

It's certainly got The News Agents puzzled.

"Is Nigel Farage the flame that the Conservative moths flutter towards, or is he the moth that flutters towards the Conservative Party, and it’s very hard to see either going to each other now," asks Jon Sopel.

What do The News Agents say?

"The prospect of any long term rapprochement between Farage and Johnson is much less than it was," says Lewis Goodall.

"You can feel, even with the members of Conservative Party on the right, who have actually wanted Farage to come in, it feels that becomes less likely because of this wedge issue."

And Emily Maitlis believes it all goes back to the B-word.

"The point about Farage and Johnson comes back to Brexit, as much as anything," she says.

"Farage is deeply uncomfortable with this idea of having called himself the architect of Brexit.

"He is now responsible for Brexit, and so he has to keep reminding people – in inverted commas – that Boris Johnson was the one who delivered 'bad' Brexit and Nigel Farage was the one that got the potential for good Brexit."

She adds that Farage needs to "push Brexit blame" onto Johnson because it has "fallen out of favour so strongly".

What does all this mean for the General Election?

Well, Emily thinks it could be very good news for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party, who have been standing back while key right-wing figures tear into each other, potentially dividing voters.

"If you step back, The Daily Mail and Boris Johnson and Farage can all be part of the circular firing squad, meanwhile Keir Starmer is being asked questions about which Taylor Swift song he likes," she says – referring to the Labour leader outing himself as a Swiftie by attending, and being photographed at, one of the star's recent London shows.

"If there is a genie, it is working overtime for Keir Starmer right now.

"You could not have aligned the stars better for this election campaign than to have three people you might have most feared, all at each other’s throats giving you clear entry to appear with superstars, chatting about the lyrics of a song. You could not make that up."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents podcast now.