Nigel Farage has said he could stand for the Tories at the next general election - but only if the party dumps Rishi Sunak first.
Speaking after finishing third in this year’s I’m A Celebrity, the former Ukip leader said he wouldn’t be a Conservative candidate “under this leadership”.
But he said he “might have a think about it” if the Conservatives replace the prime minister with a right-winger like Suella Braverman.
Farage’s comments follow speculation that some Tory MPs want a “dream ticket” of him and Boris Johnson in charge of the party.
And they come as Sunak faces a pivotal day, with rival factions of Conservative MPs meeting to decide whether or not they will support his emergency Rwanda bill in the Commons tomorrow.
On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Farage described the government as a “total shambles”.
He said: “Rishi is a lame duck walking, the Conservative Party are headed for total defeat.
“As to whether I have a future in politics, I have no idea at this moment in time but what I would say is never say never and our country needs people at the top with some firm guidance as to where we’re going to go in the future.”
Asked directly by Susanna Reid if he could be a Tory candidate at the next election, Farage said: “Would I stand as a Conservative party candidate for a party that has broken every promise, for a party that has put taxes up to the highest since 1951, for a party that has literally lied to the electorate at four successive general elections about the numbers coming into Britain, for a party that never believed in Brexit and didn’t implement it properly.
“I don’t think so at this moment in time, do you?”
But co-presenter Ed Balls then asked: “Between now and the election, could your mind be changed or are you saying ’I’m not standing for the Conservatives come what may?”
Farage said: “I don’t think under this leadership there is much prospect of that happening.”
He added: “If we had a leader that believed the size of the state should be smaller, taxes should be lower, we should stop sending 50% to university and teach young people trades and skills, that border controls should be based on skills and based on people can benefit the country, a leadership with the guts to stop young men crossing the English Channel in boats.
“If some of those things happened, do you know what, I might have a think about it.”