Cliff Notes – Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
- Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, has not dismissed local level coalitions with Reform after the upcoming council elections but firmly rejected any national pact with Nigel Farage’s party.
- Badenoch emphasised the need for local councils to prioritise community needs, referencing prior coalitions with other parties, while cautioning against pre-election “stitch-ups.”
- Senior Tories have hinted at the possibility of a future collaboration between the Conservatives and Reform, despite Badenoch’s insistence on maintaining Conservative independence at a national level.
Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform as she is desperate to cling on to power even if she leads them to their extinction.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
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However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“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 added: “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.”
In response, Nigel Farage said: “The Tories broke Britain nationally for 14 years, and their councils continue to break local communities with the highest taxes ever and worst services.
“Reform have no intention in forming coalitions with the Tories at any level.”
A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
In addition, there is one Labour-controlled borough being contested.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
Despite not ruling out agreements between the Tories and Reform once the local elections have finished, Ms Badenoch has been at pains to stress she is against any kind of deal with Mr Farage at a national level.
On Friday she criticised talk of “stitch-ups” ahead of next week’s local elections and said she was instead focused on ensuring that voters have a “credible Conservative offer”.
Speculation that the Tories and Reform could join forces heightened after two senior Tories appeared to advocate for some sort of agreement between the two rival parties.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, was captured in a video recording leaked to Sky News vowing to “bring this coalition together” to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are no longer competing for votes by the time of the next general election.
