Kemi Badenoch rules out forming coalition with Reform UK

Kemi Badenoch has said she would rather have another general election than do a deal with Reform UK in the event of a hung parliament at the next election.

In an interview with Anna Foster on BBC Radio 4 Today, Badenoch said: “I don’t like the Reform party. I like their voters. I want their voters to come back to us.”

She added: “But the people in Reform, between the sleaze scandals, the people arrested, someone in prison for Russian bribes, people talking about brown envelopes as we saw in that exposé. Why are they getting personal gifts of £5 million?”

“They’re just not our kind of people.”

Speaking about the prospect of a coalition with Reform, Badenoch told Sky News: “If there is a hung parliament, then we can have another election. We had this in 1974. It’s not about, do a deal with Reform or don’t be in government. In 1974, there were two elections. I believe that the public will see who is serious and who is not.”

A recent MRP poll conducted by YouGov revealed that if an election were held tomorrow, there would likely be a hung parliament. 

The estimate, which draws on large poll as well as census data, indicates that Labour would win 241 seats, while the Conservatives would win 130 and Reform UK 123. 

With 326 seats required to form a majority, the Conservatives and Reform would still need another 73 seats to form a government, making the prospect of them forming one unlikely. 

Badenoch also insisted that anyone who defects to Reform UK will not be allowed back into her party.

The Conservative leader’s comments ruling out forming a coalition with Reform come despite the party under her leadership having been accused of trying to “out-Reform Reform”.

Examples of this include Badenoch reneging on the Tories’ commitment to net zero by 2050, and vowing to block any parliamentary candidates who support the environmental policy.

The party has also undergone a further rightward shift on immigration, with Badenoch saying people who do not support leaving the European Convention on Human Rights will also be unable to stand as a Tory candidate.

The general secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak told the Mirror: “After their crushing defeat in 2024, the Tories thought they could win back votes by copying Farage’s homework, echoing his poisonous rhetoric, and even handing him some of their MPs.

“Whether it’s the Tories or Reform, it’s the same offer. A reckless right-wing government, ripping up workers’ rights, and siding with vested interests and the super-rich. Working people deserve better than that.”

In addition, not all Tories agree with Badenoch’s stance on doing a deal with Reform. 

Former Tory minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said at a fringe event at Conservative Party conference that it would be “bonkers” not to support a Tory-Reform coalition.

At a fringe event at party conference, the audience was asked to raise their hand if they were a Tory member who would support a post-election coalition between the two parties if it meant “stopping a left-wing government”.

Rees-Mogg, who was speaking in conversation at the event, said: “If anyone didn’t put their hand up, you’re bonkers.”

Katie Lam, the shadow housing secretary, has also suggested that the Tories may have to form a pact with Reform in order to stop the UK from rejoining the EU.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward