Former Conservative Party chairman Lord Patten has said Nigel Farage “isn’t far off” being Tommy Robinson.
He also claimed if Nigel Farage’s views on foreign policy were acted on, they would lead “us to war”.
When asked if it would be problematic to the British political system for Nigel Farage to accept a $100m donation from American billionaire Elon Musk, Lord Patten told LBC: “I don’t put anything past Mr Farage and his colleagues.
“I do think they represent a threat to democracy and good government in this country. That is why I think all of us, whether we are conservative by philosophy or not, should wish the present government the best of good luck.
“I don’t take [Nigel Farage] as seriously as some people do. Because he is, absurdly, the loudmouth in the saloon bar. You leave the saloon bar in order to avoid listening to him.”
He added: “To favour a [Reform] government whose views on foreign policy, if implemented, would have us at war, whose views on the economy are ridiculous and would completely bankrupt us rather than partially bankrupt us, I don’t think that makes much sense.
“And whose views on things like immigration aren’t that far from Tommy Robinson.”
His intervention comes as Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, has also labelled Nigel Farage’s party a “threat to democracy”.
She told Sky News: “I think many people should be concerned about Reform because they are not just a threat to individual parties but I also think they are a threat to democracy.
“Because they’re offering easy answers to real problems which are not solutions. They will just increase people’s distrust and disillusionment.”
In response, Reform MP Rupert Lowe said: “We are not ‘a threat to democracy’, Harriet Harman. We are a threat to bureaucracy.
“When we win the next election, the quango bonfire will be visible from space.”