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Nigel Farage has reiterated his aim to take down the Conservative Party and "be a bloody nuisance" in Parliament if he's elected as he kicks off Reform UK's campaign.
Nigel Farage announced he has taken over from Richard Tice as the leader of Reform UK and would be standing as the party's candidate in Clacton-on-Sea in the General Election, which could prove troublesome for the Tories as they potentially stand to lose a large chunk of their core voters.
Bookies were quick to slash the odds of Farage securing the Clacton seat - previously won by his old party UKIP - and simultaneously increase the odds of the Conservatives winning in the Essex town.
The Tories were big favourites to win the seat before Farage's shock announcement on Monday, but the chances of this happening have now fallen dramatically.
According to Betfair Exchange, the odds of Rishi Sunak's party winning in Clacton were of 1/4 (80 percent chance) before Farage announced his candidacy, and 7/5 (42 percent chance) after.
The bookies also slashed the odds of Reform winning in Clacton from 6/4 (40 percent chance) to 4/7 (64 percent chance), and if other seats follow this same trend, the Tories might have to battle it out against Farage's party to secure right-wing voters all over the country.
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Tice, the party's previous leader, also acknowledged the power Farage has to propel Reform even further in the polls during his speech announcing he was stepping down as leader.
Farage, who has once again had a milkshake thrown over him by a member of the public, promised "a political revolt" during his passionate speech.
He said: "A turning of our backs on the political status quo. It doesn’t work. Nothing in this country works any more. We are in decline. This will only be turned around with boldness. With economic growth. We are going to be the voice of opposition."
Since this speech, political commentators and pollsters alike have voiced their concern for the Tories as they struggle to close the 20-point gap between Labour and fend off attacks from Farage.
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners Polls and ex-Downing Street pollster, previously told the Express that Reform's new leader has "got it sewn up" while the Tories "are in dire straits nationally".
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He added: "Nigel Farage has chosen the seat for a reason, it's the one that most matches the demographics that Reform performs best on. I would say with quote some confidence that barring some serious change like a deal with the Tories then we're set for MP Farage.
"He's really going to do some damage to the Conservatives here. Unlike 2015, almost all of the Reform vote is from Conservative voters ... I think what Farage being in the race does is make it much harder for the Tories to get Reform down from where it is now."
Farage has reiterated his aim to take down the Conservative Party and "be a bloody nuisance" in Parliament if he's elected as he kicks off his campaign ahead of the July 4 General Election.
He told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday: "You can speculate as to what'll happen in three or four years' time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeeds in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us - it's the other way around."
