Nigel Farage has poured cold water on the idea of any electoral pact between Reform UK and the Conservative Party, saying his supporters would be “revolted” by the suggestion. The comments come amid a fresh political row sparked by a leaked recording of shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick calling for a united “fight” against Labour.
Speaking to GB News on Wednesday, the Reform leader was unequivocal in his rejection of any formal collaboration with the Tories. “I think my supporters would be revolted,” Mr Farage said. “We had 14 years of the Conservative Party. Tax is at its highest since 1947, the state has ballooned, the Civil Service has grown unchecked, and we’ve seen levels of mass immigration that even Tony Blair couldn’t have imagined. They’ve failed the country by every measure.”
His comments were in response to an audio recording obtained by Sky News in which Mr Jenrick told an audience at University College London’s Conservative Association that a split between the Tories and Reform could allow Labour to “sail through the middle”. He warned: “You head towards a general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen.”
Mr Jenrick continued: “I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and bring this coalition together, and make sure we unite as a nation as well.”
While some interpreted his remarks as a call for a potential pact, a source close to Mr Jenrick later insisted the comments referred to voters, not formal party alliances. “Rob’s comments are about voters and not parties,” the source said. “He’s clear we have to put Reform out of business and make the Conservatives the natural home for all those on the right, rebuilding the coalition of voters we had in 2019 and can have again. But he’s under no illusions how difficult that is – we have to prove over time we’ve changed and can be trusted again.”
Nonetheless, the fallout from the leaked remarks was swift. Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves challenged Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to clarify her stance. “She needs to urgently come clean as to whether she backs her shadow justice secretary doing grubby deals with Reform behind the electorate’s back, or if she will rule it out. If she disagrees with Robert Jenrick, how can her leadership have any credibility whilst he remains in her shadow cabinet?”
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Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper joined in the criticism, branding Mr Jenrick’s remarks as evidence of “senior Conservatives plotting a grubby election deal with Nigel Farage”. She called on Ms Badenoch to act: “Kemi Badenoch should sack Robert Jenrick now if she’s serious about ruling out a pact with Reform. Anything less would show she’s either too weak to sack him or that she agrees.”
Ms Badenoch’s spokesperson said she had not been aware of Mr Jenrick’s comments in advance but acknowledged the underlying truth in his assessment. “It is demonstrably true that the right is not currently united,” the spokesperson said. “She agrees that we need to bring centre-right voters together to defeat Labour.”
Mr Farage, however, remains unmoved by Conservative overtures. “I can only deal with people who I could trust,” he said on Wednesday. “I don’t trust them.”
The latest exchanges have added fuel to speculation about how Reform UK and the Conservatives might interact in the lead-up to the general election. But with Farage’s blunt dismissal and internal Tory divisions laid bare, unity on the right remains as elusive as ever.
