GB News host Stephen Dixon has lashed out at the Conservative MP, accusing the party of “following on the coattails of Reform UK” with their immigration policies.
Nick Timothy defended the Conservatives, saying the party knows immigration policy “needs to be changed and reformed,” but insisted it is “not copying Reform UK”.
Reform UK unveiled sweeping immigration reforms earlier this week, proposing to eliminate indefinite leave to remain rights for migrants.
The party's plans would prevent approximately 800,000 individuals from qualifying for settled status over the coming years.
Nick Timothy defended the Conservative party and claimed that they are aware that it needs to be reformed
|GB NEWS
Speaking to the Tory MP, Stephen said: "I mean, the problem you face is that we’re not getting enough solid policy from the leadership at the moment. It’s coming out in dribs and drabs. And because of that, a lot of it is being lost in the noise, if you like.
"But it also seems like you and indeed Labour to an extent, and even the Lib Dems, from what they’ve been saying recently, are just following on the coattails of Reform.
"Reform have been bold enough to say what they believe in, in a way that’s unpalatable for some, but at least they’ve said it.
"Now it feels like the other parties are just following on their coattails with slightly watered-down versions of their policies."
Nick Timothy said: "Well, look, I was only elected last year. But if you track the things I was writing in the Daily Telegraph over the years, you’ll see I’m following nobody.
"This is exactly what I’ve believed all along. And if you actually look at what the Conservatives have announced since the election, we’ve been tabling amendments to legislation to try to make this law already.
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"It’s not the Conservatives following other political parties, it’s other political parties following the Conservatives.
"Because we were the first to say that things like indefinite leave to remain need to be reformed.
"And we were the first to say that we need to start getting some of the people who came during the Boris wave out of the country again."
During an LBC interview on Wednesday, the Reform UK leader announced that Ukrainian and Hong Kong nationals would be exempt from proposed benefit bans.
Nigel Farage announced his new immigration policy earlier this week
| PA"They come for different reasons," Mr Farage explained, describing genuine refugees as historically being among Britain's most industrious and successful residents.
He suggested Afghan nationals represented a "slightly different category" requiring case-by-case assessment.
When questioned about Ukrainian and Hong Kong nationals' eligibility for indefinite leave to remain, he had declared: "800,000 people are due to qualify for ILR over the course of the next few years. This press conference is to say none of them will get it."