'I'm determined to do that and to bring this coalition together '
Further evidence has emerged that the Tories and Reform are planning a grubby, secret electoral pact ahead of the next general election.
According to a leaked recording obtained by Sky News, Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, has vowed to “bring this coalition together” to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are not fighting each other for votes before the next election.
Speaking to a group of students in March, he said he was worried that Reform UK “becomes a permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene”.
In the recording, he can be heard saying: “[Reform UK] continues to do well in the polls. And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene. And if that is the case, and I say, I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case, then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the right is not united.
“And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen.
“I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and to bring this coalition together and make sure we unite as a nation as well.”
His comments contradict those of his party leader Kemi Badenoch, who has ruled out a pact or any deals with Reform UK on a national level.
Labour chair Ellie Reeves said: “If she disagrees with Robert Jenrick, how can her leadership have any credibility whilst he remains in her Shadow Cabinet?
“We know Kemi Badenoch has opened the door to deals with Reform at a local level, which Labour has categorically ruled out and now Robert Jenrick has let the cat out the bag.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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