Overview
- Financial Times reporting, citing donors, says Nigel Farage privately described a Conservative–Reform arrangement as “inevitable,” though this remains unconfirmed.
- Nigel Farage publicly rejected teaming up with the Conservatives, calling the idea “ludicrous” and saying he would not do a deal with a party he does not trust.
- A Conservative spokesman said that under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership the party will not consider any deals or pacts with Reform UK.
- A Find Out Now poll published on Dec. 5 put Reform UK at 31%, Conservatives at 20%, Greens at 18% and Labour at 14%, a single survey that heightened focus on the electoral stakes.
- Analysts highlight major barriers to any pre‑election pact, including first‑past‑the‑post incentives, party rules and stark policy differences such as Reform’s support for some nationalisation versus the Conservatives’ low‑tax, welfare‑cutting stance, as recent Tory defections to Reform continue without promised preferential treatment.