Nigel Farage has told donors he expects to do some sort of deal with the Tories before the next election to ensure the right wins the maximum number of seats.
An article in the Financial Times has caused quite a stir in Reform circles. FT reporters Anna Gross and Julie Steinberg detail the comments made by Reform donors about their conversations with Nigel Farage about unifying the right. The first donor they anonymously cite recounted how Farage had told them he anticipated a merger or an agreement on co-operation for the next election, due before the summer of 2029. Another source, described as an associate of Farage, corroborated the expectations of a merger or some kind of deal but emphasised that it would be a deal on Reform’s terms due to the balance of power between the two parties.
Leadership rebuttal
A major rebuttal operation was launched by the party leadership to calm supporters outraged by the idea of merging or doing a deal with a party associated with the highest ever level of immigration. Farage described it as a “false story”, accusing the Tories of “14 years of dishonesty & lies”.
Richard Tice, deputy leader, took to the airwaves to join the rebuttal, telling Times Radio, “You can’t merge with a bunch of Liberal Democrat ConSocialists who believe in Net Zero”.
So what’s going on?
For all the protestations of Reform party leaders, any glance at the polling trends suggests the party is meeting resistance at the 30% level of support, and that is with both Labour and the Conservatives performing very badly. If this is Reform’s maximum level of support, then they could fall short of an overall majority at the next election. The Financial Times is a trustworthy source, and the article is likely to be factually based. However, what Farage felt were reasonable comments to say to donors are not the ones he wants heard by the broader membership.
We shouldn’t forget that Farage has form in doing deals with the Tories, or at least trying to do them. At the GE2019, Farage stood down candidates in 300+ Conservative-held seats. He may feel next time the Conservatives should do something for him in return.
Story developing…
