Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has unleashed his thoughts on the “catastrophic” results in last week’s elections for BCP Conservatives. 

Speaking with the Bournemouth Echo ahead of his GB News show at Winton’s Royal British Legion, Mr Farage didn’t hold back on the results. 

“There has been a catastrophic collapse in Tory seats and clearly a fair bit of co-ordination going on between Labour and the Lib Dems at a local level,” he said.

Bournemouth Echo: Mr Farage was joined by Right Said FredMr Farage was joined by Right Said Fred (Image: Daily Echo)

“Greens are not particularly a factor here in the way they are in other parts of the country but in parliamentary terms these are very, very rock-solid Tory seats.” 

Last week, the Conservatives lost 22 seats at the council elections with only 12 seats surviving.

Read more: Labour man Tom Hayes 'removes election leaflet' from resident's door

During the event on Thursday, Mr Farage said he believes Bournemouth, a historically Conservative area, has a lot of unhappy voters who voted against the Tories in protest. 

He added: “We’re a 55/45 Brexit voting area, probably of Conservative voters in Bournemouth, of which 75 to 80 per cent would have been Brexiteers, and they will be feeling very, very let down by the whole thing.”

Bournemouth Echo: Mr Farage was joined by Harry RedknappMr Farage was joined by Harry Redknapp (Image: Daily Echo)

He also told of his fondness for Bournemouth and Dorset saying: “I know Dorset quite well, it’s a great county, lovely.  

“I’m Kent born and raised so I’m very much a country boy myself. My father served at Lulworth in the tank regiment.”

Read more: BCP Council election: Conservatives drop from 34 seats to 12

Mr Farage said he has seen the controversial footage of Labour’s Bournemouth East parliamentary candidate Tom Hayes remove election literature from somebody’s post box and replace it with his own. 

“It’s one individual and you can’t read anything into that. Had it been three Labour people, you’d go ‘what the hell is going on’, but it’s just one,” he said.

 

But how would he react if this was one of his UKIP or Brexit Party candidates? 

“I was pretty brutal with people, but I had to be – particularly with the eccentrics we had,” he said with a smile. 

During the show, Mr Farage pressed outgoing council leader Phil Broadhead on the result and addressed “the unending catastrophe” that is surfing in Bournemouth. 

“This farce has gone on for nearly 20 years now,” he said. “I’ve fished here many times, I’ve drifted through the bay catching squid, so I know here quite well. 

“But if Bournemouth was able to be a viable surfing venue the place would explode because you would get so many people coming here. 

“Look at Padstow and north Devon and yet it has never happened here.”