Friday, 14 February 2025
Merger
‘70pc chance’ Reform and Tories will merge, says Conservative grandee
There is a 70 per cent chance of the Tories and Reform UK merging ahead of the next general election, a senior Conservative MP has said.
Sir Edward Leigh, who has been a Tory MP since 1983 and is now the Father of the House as the longest-serving male MP, said the chances of a deal being done were high.
His comments came just days after Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, dismissed the idea of an election pact with Nigel Farage’s party.
A merge seems unlikely as the Tories have nothing to offer a party hoping to sell itself via a radical agenda. Sir Edward Leigh must know it's a question of trust and for the Tories, trust has declined too far. Still, a few more years of Labour and who can tell how desperate voters may become.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
A merger is a constitutional and legal arrangement, but it's likely there will be some sort of de facto merger because voters, councillors, and MPs will just move across. Farage probably thinks he needs the MPs, as his party is new and lacking in know-how, whereas there are probably a few pockets of residual expertise in what is left of the Conservatives.
Sam - the problem Farage seems to have is that it only benefits the Tories as it provides the radicalism they don't have and they can't easily persuade voters otherwise. Anything may be preferable after Labour though.
Farage would be completely mad to associate himself and his party with the failed Tory brand.
I don't think he's mad, so he won't.
The idea is a non-starter, brought about by Tory party desperation. Forget it.
Peter - yes he would be mad and the party probably wouldn't allow it, but politicians are weird people.
It worked out well for the LibDems. And the nation.
The party of Clegg imploded. The nation was lumbered with half-arsed policies and law changes which were the result of clandestine deals.
Doonhamer - and that's what we'd get again, clandestine deals.
Post a Comment