Same cockroaches... different restaurant: Sir Sadiq Khan's scathing take on Reform UK defectors
Sir Sadiq Khan has hit out at Reform UK defectors, likening them to "cockroaches" during his phone-in with James O'Brien.
Listen to this article
Taking calls as part of LBC phone-in Speak to Sadiq, London's Mayor likened politicians defecting to Nigel Farage's party to the insect known to plague unsanitary kitchens.
Using the analogy to paint Reform UK as a party comprised of Tory defectors, Sir Sadiq pulled no punches when it came to targeting the party in the wake of Robert Jenrick's shock saching on Thursday.
"Look, if you go to a restaurant today, you have to wait for service, you have poor quality service, the bill is ridiculous, you get food poisoning and you see cockroaches running on the floor," Sir Sadiq said in response to the threat posed by Reform UK.
"Would you next week go to the restaurant a few doors down with the same chef, the same staff, the same menu, the same cockroaches running on the streets?
He went on to describe Mr Farage's party as a "repository for unsuccessful Conservatives".
Admitting that he once "understood" the appeal of Reform UK to disenfranchised voters, the Mayor explained that his view had since changed following the mass defection of Conservative MPs.
"I now don't understand why anybody would vote for Reform," the London mayor insisted.
"I got the attraction previously, I don't get the attraction now."
The comments come less than 24 hours after Conservative MP and Shadow Cabinet member Robert Jenrick became the latest politician to defect to Reform after being sacked by Kemi Badenoch.
Jenrick launched a scathing attack on the Tories on Thursday after Ms Badenoch sacked him, removed the whip and suspended his party membership, after he left material "lying around" that gave away his plans to defect.
Insisting he "won't be joining Reform" anytime soon, Sir Sadiq insisted: "I think those who think reform is the answer to their problems should think again.
He added: "Those who think Reform is the answer to their problems are wrong".
"People look to disruption when they're fed up with business as usual," Sir Sadiq continued, highlighting people's frustration at the current status quo and the reasons for Reform's surge in support.
"We have evidence that Reform is a repository for unsuccessful Conservatives," he explained, adding that there are two kinds of politicians - "those who play on people's fears and those who try to address them".
It comes as Reform UK vowed to oust Sir Sadiq Khan as the party fielded their London Mayoral candidate.
Vowing an “all-out war” on crime in London, Mr Farage revealed Laila Cunningham, a former public prosecutor, as the party’s candidate for the next London mayoral election