Would the Conservatives want to, though?
Quote:
Farage tells donors he expects Reform UK will do an election deal with Tories
Rightwing populist party could pursue a merger or pact with the Conservatives
Nigel Farage has told donors he expects a deal or merger between his Reform UK party and the Conservatives ahead of the next general election, suggesting he does not believe he can sweep to power alone.
One donor said that Farage had told them he expected to do a deal with the Tories, whether it is a merger or an agreement on co-operation between the two parties, to ease Reform’s route to election victory.
The person added the Reform leader had said such a deal could only be done on his terms, in part because Farage felt betrayed after the pact he made with the Tories at the 2019 election.
Another associate who met with Farage in recent months said that the Reform leader described a pact or merger as inevitable but added it may take some time.
The person added that Farage had said that Reform held more power so any agreement would be made on his rightwing populist party’s terms.
The Tories are languishing at about 17 per cent in opinion polls — a similar level to both Labour and the Greens and their lowest level in decades — while Reform is leading on 29 per cent.
The discussions between Farage and donors point to the challenges he faces in turning Reform’s political momentum into real power, as a split vote on the right could allow liberal and left-leaning voters to unite to keep his party out of office.
But Farage dismissed the descriptions of the conversations, telling the Financial Times that “sometimes people hear what they want to”.
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https://www.ft.com/content/ecf577aa-...0-ec566accae33