Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned that the Conservatives and Reform UK will “destroy each other” unless the two parties unite. The former Conservative Cabinet minister raised fears that the Left could win an “even bigger majority” at the next election due to splits on the Right of British politics.
Speaking at a Daily Express event at the Tory conference, Sir Jacob said it is a “double challenge” as Left-wing voters are returning to Labour under Andy Burnham.
Plea for the Right to unite
Sir Jacob said: “We do need everybody on the Right to realise that when we are dividing up the vote in the first-past-the-post system, we just destroy each other and we allow people of the hard-Left in.”
“And this has become more of a challenge because Andy Burnham and Zack Polanski are between them reuniting the Left,” he added.
“Andy Burnham because he's more appealing than Starmer, and Zack Polanski because he seems a complete lunatic… he’s just a bit odd and he's putting people off.”
Warning of a larger Left majority
“So, we have a double challenge, a bigger challenge than we did six months ago, that we are disunited and the Left is united,” Sir Jacob said.
“And that faces us with an election where the Left could win an even bigger majority than it's currently got, and it could use it for the hard Left policies that Burnham has proposed.”
Sir Jacob said voters on the Right can work out who is best placed to win in their constituency while Reform leader Nigel Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch continue to rule out a more formal pact.
Voters urged to decide
The former Conservative MP said: “So, how do we work it out? Well, initially, I think we have to let voters work it out for themselves as they did in Makerfield and in Aberdeen, where in Aberdeen the Reform vote practically disappeared, in Makerfield our vote disappeared completely.”
“I think that voters are intelligent and can work these things out. And as the two leaders don't wish to do any form of pact, that is as far as we can go at the moment.”
He called for the two parties to form a coalition after the next election if it prevents a left-wing government, saying it would be “bonkers” not to support such a move.
The warning comes as the latest YouGov poll puts Labour in the lead on 27%, while Reform UK is on 22% and the Conservatives on 20%.
