Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch has firmly ruled out any national coalition with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party — but has suggested local-level deals could be possible following next week’s council elections.
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader said: “I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips.”
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However, she stopped short of ruling out local arrangements, saying that where councils are left under no overall control, “you have to do what is right for your local area.”
Badenoch pointed out that Conservatives are already in local coalitions with other parties: “You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She also warned against backroom deals before voters have their say: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
Voters will head to the polls on Thursday 1 May, with 23 councils up for grabs — mostly in areas historically considered “Tory shires” before the Conservatives’ heavy losses at last year’s general election.
These include 14 county councils (12 of which are currently Tory-controlled) and eight unitary authorities (seven currently Tory-held), plus one Labour borough.
Badenoch has sought to manage expectations, suggesting the Conservatives could lose every council they’re contesting.
The last time these councils were up for election, in 2021, Boris Johnson was leading the party during the COVID vaccine bounce.
Despite speculation about an alliance between the Conservatives and Reform UK, Badenoch has stressed she is focused on presenting voters with a “credible Conservative offer” — not brokering deals.
Pressure for a Tory-Reform alignment has grown after senior figures hinted at the possibility.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, was caught in leaked audio pledging to “bring this coalition together” and suggesting he would find a way to stop the two parties from splitting the right-wing vote before the next general election.
According to the exclusive audio obtained by Sky News, Jenrick said he would work “one way or another” to avoid handing Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party a second term.
Jenrick, who lost last year’s Tory leadership race to Badenoch, has denied that his comments amounted to calling for a formal pact.
Meanwhile, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen added to the debate, telling Politico: “I don’t know what it looks like. I don’t know whether it’s a pact. I don’t know whether it’s a merger… [or] a pact of trust and confidence or whatever.
But if we want to make sure that there is a sensible centre-right party leading this country, then there is going to have to be a coming together of Reform and the Conservative Party in some way.”
Labour’s Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden also appeared on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, downplaying expectations for Labour gains next Thursday and ruling out deals with other parties: “The deals on offer after Thursday won’t be between Labour and the Tories and Labour and Reform,” he said.
McFadden also criticised the blurring of lines between the Conservatives and Reform, saying: “I’m not even sure if they’re two different parties or one party at the moment.”
(Sky News)
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