Former Tory MP Neil Parish has said the Conservatives face a problem because their supporters do not fear Keir Starmer in the way they feared Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Parish also said he did not believe that Reform would do much more on immigration but would win votes because they will ‘talk the good talk.’
Speaking on GB News Neil Parish said: “It's always possible [we will reach the cross over] because this is a mirror image of the last election. Because in the last election, the left votes were divided. If you're on the doorstep and they didn't like Boris, you could say, well, how do you get on with Mr Corbyn? And they say, ‘we don't want him.’ And so their choice was easy: come back to the Conservatives.
“The problem here is that Keir Starmer is acceptable as a new Prime Minister and so therefore he doesn't frighten the Tories. And so therefore the only real method now the Tory party has, in some ways, is to say, if you vote Reform, you get Labour, and so stick with the Tories.
“But at the moment, it's proving very difficult for them. Nigel Farage is very charismatic. Also, of course, he's ticking the right boxes as well, which is quite easy in a way, for a party that's coming up and never been in government.
“But that is where people are; the older generation in the rural areas in particular, I've got some neighbours. They're not particularly old, but they're very much sort of on the right wing of a Tory party, bordering towards Reform.
“So, yes, real danger out there for the Tory party, because I don't think it's going to be so easy necessarily, to encourage people back into the Tory fold, because they don't see Keir Starmer as too frightening.
“I haven't had a phone call from the Tory party so therefore, if I stood, I would be standing as an independent. I've decided to let the Liberal Democrats and Labour fight it out with the Tories, and I'll keep my powder dry for the time being.
“If the Tories were desperate and decided they could have me, then I probably would put my hat in the ring. But otherwise, like I said, I shall carry on commenting on what's happening in the election.
“In some ways, it's quite, you know, it's quite nice not to be going around the doorsteps getting a real earful from people about what the Tories have been doing. And also your head is not on the chopping block. So I can tell you the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, because it's not my head on the chopping block this time.
“I'm very moderate, and I'm not quite Reform, you see. And also, the only problem I've got with Reform is yes, they talk the good talk, but in the end, I don't think they’ll do a great deal more about immigration.
“But of course, they can talk it up, and that is why people will vote for them. But I will, for better or for worse, I will stick with the Tories.
“Whether the Tories want to stick with me is quite another matter, but I will stay where I am really and I shall wait and see what happens after the election, to see where the Tory party goes after all this.
“Because they're going to have to reinvent themselves, either further on the right, or do they moderate towards the middle?
“It's going to be fascinating. And, of course, that'll be down to who's left after the election.”
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