'If you vote Reform or Conservative, you're opening the door to more of the Tory chaos that held our country back over the past 14 years.'
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has come in for some heavy criticism after giving the green light for Tory-Reform UK coalitions at a local level.
Badenoch, who has previously insisted that there would be no merger or deal with Nigel Farage’s party, has now said that Tory councillors can go ahead and form coalitions with Reform UK.
She made the comments on BBC Breakfast, where Badenoch said: “At local level, we end up with various coalitions.
“I’ve seen Conservatives go into coalition with Labour, with Liberal Democrats, with Independents. You don’t get to have a rerun of an election at local level, so what I’m telling local leaders across the country (is) they have to do what is right for the people in their local area.”
Badenoch did however insist that party members would need to “stick to Conservative principles” such as “sound money”.
She added: “So local leaders are voted by the people in a particular community, they will have to make the choice about what is right for their councils, but at a national level, no, I was not made leader of the Conservative Party to give it away to Reform.”
Ellie Reeves MP, chair of the Labour Party, told the Mirror: “Now it’s crystal clear: if you vote Reform or Conservative, you’re opening the door to more of the Tory chaos that held our country back over the past 14 years.
“Kemi Badenoch and her Conservative Party left our NHS at breaking point and Nigel Farage wants to make patients pay for healthcare when they’re sick. Just imagine what they’d do together.”
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