Two Conservative leadership candidates have made contrasting statements regarding the Tory’s future alignment with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Speaking at the Conservative conference in Birmingham, Tom Tugendhat warned against his party becoming similar to Reform UK, instead advocating for the Tories to “rebuild trust” with the public. Kemi Badenoch, a rival leadership contender, stated she was open to working with Reform UK but opposed an electoral pact.
Both Tugendhat and Badenoch addressed delegates from the main stage, with Robert Jenrick and James Cleverly speaking a day later. In interviews with political editor Christopher Hope, both candidates discussed their vision for the Conservative Party’s future.
The conference also saw a fringe meeting, in which James Cleverly criticised the Prime Minister’s “Stop the boats” messaging, calling it an “error”. Cleverly elaborated that such messaging overshadowed the true complexity of the issue which is at the heart of this UK government’s response to immigration.
The Conservative Party’s recent election performance against their Liberal Democrat and Reform UK rivals was also discussed during the conference. Asked whether the biggest threat was the Liberal Democrats or Reform UK, Tugendhat stated that ‘”the enemy is trust” and that the Conservative Party must rebuild trust after eroding trust in themselves. Referring to voters who supported the opposition parties at the last general election, Tugendhat added: “People woke up in the morning and they wanted to get us out”.
When questioned about the possibility of an agreement with Reform UK, Badenoch stated her party must be the “center-right option” at the next election. She explained: “if we split that vote, we are going to be out of power for another five years and Labour will destroy this country”. However, she later said she was prepared to work with other parties but ruled out entering into an electoral pact with Reform UK
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