Nigel Farage has said Reform UK is aiming for a “reverse takeover” of the Conservative Party, as he dismissed the prospect of a formal electoral pact with the Tories. “No deals, just a reverse takeover,” the Reform leader said. “A deal with them as they are would cost us votes.”
Farage denied a report that he had told donors an electoral deal was “inevitable”, but acknowledged he would like to effectively absorb the party by winning over defectors and replacing it. His comments prompted Labour to claim that Reform and the Conservatives were ideologically identical, with Keir Starmer attacking their “unholy alliance”. Senior Labour sources said the idea of a merger would be highly useful at the local elections, and they would portray the two parties as being in each other’s pockets.
Reform has accepted more than 21 current and former Tory MPs, while no MPs from other parties have defected, highlighting the overlap between the two. Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, said donors were “confused” if they thought Farage wanted a pact, insisting that his goal was to replace the Conservatives.
However, the idea of a pact does not appear credible while Kemi Badenoch remains Tory leader, with senior Reform figures much keener on Robert Jenrick as a potential partner. Badenoch has ruled out joining forces with Farage. One Reform donor told the Guardian they would trust Farage’s judgment on a merger, while another confirmed that Farage had discussed what a deal could look like but considered it unfeasible with Badenoch. “I believe it will happen and it should happen,” the second donor said, adding that the Tories’ only chance of winning alone would be to move decisively to the centre under a different leader.
Reform currently leads in the polls, and some senior Tory rightwingers believe a deal will be necessary for the party’s survival. Options include a pre-election non-aggression pact, a post-election confidence-and-supply arrangement, or even a full coalition. However, Tory sources suggested any discussions would have to remain private, with one shadow cabinet minister saying: “Reform wouldn’t want to talk about it before the election because so many people still don’t like Tories.” Jenrick, who is understood to believe a deal is inevitable and was recorded in April vowing to “unite the right”, rejected the idea of defecting. “It wasn’t very long ago that I was running to be leader of the Conservative party, so I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
