Truss among Tory MPs at Farage's birthday party

7 months ago 82
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Nigel FarageImage source, Getty Images

By Becky Morton

Political reporter

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss was among the guests at Nigel Farage's 60th birthday party in London on Wednesday.

Fellow Conservative MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns also attended the event for Reform UK's honorary president.

Meanwhile, there was a video message from former US President Donald Trump, who described Mr Farage as a "prophetic leader".

The ex-UKIP leader helped to found Reform from the ashes of the Brexit Party.

The right-wing party has pledged to stand candidates in every seat across England, Scotland and Wales at the next general election, in a challenge to the Tories. It is currently polling at around at around 12%.

Mr Farage has so far refused to confirm whether he will play a role in the upcoming election, which is expected later this year.

He is not expected to make another bid to become an MP after failing to get elected to the UK Parliament seven times, but could be given a campaigning role.

In a photo shared on X, Dame Andrea, the Tory MP for Morley and Outwood, said it was a "pleasure" to be invited to Mr Farage's party, describing him as "a true patriot, conservative to the core" and "one of the most influential politicians of our generation".

Spotted in the background of the photo was Ms Truss.

Mr Farage recently appeared at the campaign launch of Ms Truss's Popular Conservatism group, although this was technically in his role as a GB News presenter.

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In his video message, Mr Trump said Mr Farage he was "very much looking forward to watching what your next move will be", congratulating him on his "incredible" achievements.

Other guests included Tory MP Mark Francois and Lee Anderson, who defected from the Tories to Reform last month.

Also at the event were Reform leader Richard Tice, LeaveEU co-founder Arron Banks and reality TV star Georgia Toffolo.

Mr Farage began his political journey as a Conservative but quit the party in the early 1990s over its then pro-European stance.

He was warmly welcomed at the Tory Party's annual conference in Manchester last year, where he was seen dancing with former Conservative minister Priti Patel at a party.

His appearance prompted speculation he could rejoin the party.

However, he has insisted he is committed to backing Reform at the next election.

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