The Tories today rejected talk of a pact with Reform to create a rightwing ‘mega-party led by Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, as a shadow frontbencher likened it to a dysfunctional marriage.
Sources close to the Reform UK leader told The Mail on Sunday that he would be open to working with the former PM ‘in the national interest’ to defeat Labour.
Based on current polling, a Reform/Tory ‘mega party’ would trounce Sir Keir Starmer – who is shedding votes as his stumbling Government experiences an unprecedented post-election collapse in support.
It also comes as a new poll suggests just a quarter of Tory voters see currently leader Kemi Badenoch as ‘a PM in waiting’ as the party struggles.
The Mail on Sunday reveals today that allies of Mr Farage and the former Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick met last week at the In and Out private members’ club in Mayfair for informal discussions about ‘uniting the right’ – although the sources insist that the talks were not sanctioned by either Mr Farage or Mr Jenrick.
However, Alex Burghart, the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told the BBC‘s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘Reform’s stated ambition is to destroy the Conservative party, that’s a pretty difficult first date.
‘If somebody says they are out to destroy you, do you think about marriage?
‘While Reform is talking about completely killing us, I don’t think there is a conversation to be had there.’
Nigel Farage is prepared to work with Boris Johnson to defeat Labour ‘in the national interest’, sources close to the Reform UK leader have claimed
Alex Burghart, the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘Reform’s stated ambition is to destroy the Conservative party, that’s a pretty difficult first date. If somebody says they are out to destroy you, do you think about marriage?’
With the Conservatives languishing in third place in some polls, and many of the party’s millionaire backers starting to switch to Reform, the sources said that Mr Farage could ‘set aside ego’ to serve in a combined operation.
They point to the Brexit campaign of 2016, when Mr Johnson campaigned for the same cause as Mr Farage but in a separate and self-contained fashion.
Critically, however, the sources stress that if Reform maintains a strong poll lead Mr Farage would expect to be in a position to dictate terms.
These would include abandoning net zero targets and following President Trump’s example by appointing high-profile figures – as Mr Trump did with X’s Elon Musk – to run slimmed-down Government departments from the Lords.
A deal could be in the form of a non-aggression pact at elections, a coalition similar to that of the Liberals and SDP in the 1980s or a full merger. Jobs for Mr Farage after an election victory could include Chancellor.
A source said: ‘Nigel is convinced the Tories can’t win, and the future of the Right will be decided now. He showed in the Brexit campaign that he can set aside ego for the wider good, but was burned in 2019 when he stood down candidates at the election only for Boris to betray Brexit.
Allies of Mr Farage and the former Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick met last week at the In and Out private members’ club in Mayfair
Robert Jenrick met with allies of Mr Farage for informal discussions about ‘uniting the right’
‘If Boris returns as leader there would have to be clear agreement on key matters.’
According to Ladbrokes, Mr Farage is favourite to be the next PM, followed by Ms Badenoch, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Mr Johnson – who may be out of Parliament, but is still regarded as the king across the water by many Tories.
However, a comeback would be complicated, requiring a self-sacrificing party leader to hand him a seat and then surrender their position. This is unlikely under Ms Badenoch.
Mr Johnson’s friends say the former PM believes the Tories can succeed only by re-establishing their own distinct identity, philosophy and policies – not by aping those of other parties like Reform.
They add that his ‘red line’ would be remaining a member of the Conservative Party. According to one: ‘Boris would never defect. But the Brexit campaign could be a model for the future if the Tories’ fortunes do not revive.’
As part of their drive for power, Reform strategists are aiming to raise the party’s support to match Mr Farage’s personal approval rating of 32 per cent.
An Electoral Calculus poll published yesterday had Reform on 24 per cent, with Labour and the Tories level on 23 per cent.
That would put the Conservatives on 178 seats, Reform on 175 and Labour on 174 – giving a unified mega party a total of 353 shared MPs.
The leak of support to Reform in Labour’s traditional working-class heartlands is so pronounced that in May’s local elections Reform are planning to warn that ‘a vote for the Tories is a vote for Labour’.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, a close ally of Mr Johnson, said last week: ‘If we enter the next election in this three horse race without a pact, we may well see Labour keep its majority – and just look how badly they’re governing.’
