Kemi Badeoch has said that the Conservatives will not do a deal with Reform as she brushed off talk of “stitch ups before an election”.
The Tory leader said that her job is “not to give the party away”, as her team have faced repeated questions over whether they will do a deal with Nigel Farage’s party who are consistently outperforming them in the polls.
Speaking to reporters during a local elections campaign visit in Warwickshire on Friday, the Tory leader said: “We are not doing a deal with Reform, there’s not going to be a pact.
“What we need to do right now is focus on ensuring that… voters have a credible Conservative offer.
“When we start talking about stitch ups before an election, it sounds as if we’re not thinking about the people out there, just about how we win.
“Winning is just the first step, we need to talk about how we’re going to deliver for the people of this country, and that’s why I’m travelling all over the UK now making sure that people understand what the Conservative offer is, especially for next week’s local government elections, which are not an opinion poll but about who’s going to run services.”
Earlier this week, audio was published in which shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick could be heard saying he wanted the “fight” against Labour to be “united” and vowing to create a “coalition” to achieve that.
A source close to Mr Jenrick later said he had been talking “about voters and not parties”.
Speaking separately to the PA news agency on Friday, Mrs Badenoch reiterated that the party will not be having any “pacts” with Reform.
“Reform have said their ambition is to destroy the Conservative Party. I’m the custodian of the Conservative Party, we’ve been around for a long time.
“We’ve had our ups and downs but my job is not to give the party away, but to make sure that we’re delivering for the British public.”
She added: “When you start hearing about coalitions before any votes have been cast, the public hear stitch ups, people just organising to try and win, rather than doing what is right for local people.”
Next Thursday’s local elections in parts of England could give a glimpse into whether Reform’s poll performance will translate into votes.
The Conservatives are defending a large number of seats across the country, as the last time most were elected was in May 2021 when the party was enjoying a spike in popularity under Boris Johnson in the wake of the Covid-19 vaccine roll out.
Mrs Badenoch said that the polls will be “challenging” and the party are “fighting very hard for every vote”.
She added: “We have to remind people that these elections are not an opinion poll, you will have to live with what you vote for for four years.”
