Nigel Farage has reportedly told donors he expects Reform UK to do an election deal with the Conservatives, suggesting he does not think he can win power alone.
The leader of the Right-wing party is said to have backed the move in an attempt to ease Reform UK’s route to victory at the next General Election.
One donor said Mr Farage had told them the deal may take the form of either a merger to form a ‘mega party’ or an agreement to cooperate with the Tories.
However, the source added that the Reform UK leader had insisted that such a move would only be done on his terms.
Another associate said that Mr Farage had recently branded a pact between the Tories and Reform as ‘inevitable’.
But the Reform leader has denied making the comments, instead insisting that ‘sometimes people hear what they want to’.
He told the Financial Times: ‘I would never do a deal with a party that I don’t trust. No deals, just a reverse takeover.
‘A deal with them as they are would cost us votes.’
He added: ‘After next May, the Conservatives will no longer be a national party.’
One insider told the Daily Mail that a deal was ‘impossible’ while Kemi Badenoch remains as Conservative leader, given the bad blood between the pair.
But Mr Farage believes she will be ousted before the election and that another Tory leader might be more open to a deal.
It comes after a source close to Mr Farage told The Mail on Sunday that he would be open to forming a Right-wing ‘mega party’ led by himself and Boris Johnson.
In February, Mrs Badenoch ruled out a pact with Reform before the next election. She said: ‘Nigel Farage has said that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party.
‘So I’m not… I have been given something very precious. I am the custodian of an institution that has existed for nigh on 200 years… I have to look after this thing. I can’t just treat it like it’s a toy and have pacts and mergers.’
However, the Tories have so far failed to climb back up the opinion polls, where they are currently languishing at around 17 per cent.
Moreover, research shared late last month suggested that the Conservatives would win just 14 seats if a General Election was called today.
Meanwhile, Reform UK is currently leading the polls at percentages in the high 20s.
The party has consistently won support among voters with its tough stance on issues such as immigration and crime.
Nevertheless, Reform UK still faces the challenge of turning its political momentum into real power and acquiring the keys to 10 Downing Street.
There are fears in Mr Farage’s camp that a split in the Right-wing vote could allow liberals and those on the left to unite and keep them out of government.
The news of the proposed merger comes just days after three ex-Tory MPs defected to Reform, accusing their former party of ‘losing trust’ with voters.
Jonathan Gullis, Lia Nici and Chris Green were all kicked out of their seats by voters in last year’s election.
They are the latest defections to hit Mrs Badenoch, despite allies hoping that she is starting to turn the tanker after a well-received Budget response and series of effective attacks on Labour.
A Reform Party source said: ‘The Conservative Party is dead. Only Reform can beat Labour at the next election as the polls show time and time again.’
In a Facebook post, Mr Gullis, who represented Stoke-on-Trent North until the last election and was a schools minister under Liz Truss, said: ‘Today I am pleased to be joining Reform UK. Leaving the Conservative Party after 18 years is not a decision I have taken lightly.
‘Over time, I have watched a party I once believed in lose touch with the people it was meant to serve.
‘From failing to control both legal and illegal migration to pursuing a net zero agenda that has seen a rise in our household energy bills and put jobs in Stoke-on-Trent’s world-famous ceramics sector at risk, the Conservative Party has understandably lost the trust of the British people.
‘As a country, we face serious and deep-rooted challenges, and what is required now are bold, radical ideas alongside the determination to deliver them.
‘I believe only Reform UK has the vision and courage needed to restore pride in Britain and deliver real change, putting our country and our communities first.
‘Nigel Farage has shown, consistently over many decades, the courage of his convictions, and it is that strength of leadership which will drive forward the bold and radical reforms our country so urgently needs.’
Mr Green served as Grimsby MP and was a parliamentary private secretary under Boris Johnson.
Ms Nici represented Bolton West and was also part of Liz Truss’s government as a party whip in 2022.
The three defections are the first since Danny Kruger, the sitting MP for East Wiltshire, left the Tories for Reform in September.
Mr Gullis, who was ousted by Labour from his seat of Stoke-on-Trent North at the general election, was a secondary school teacher before entering Parliament.
But he revealed in September 2024 that despite applying for a few teaching jobs since the election, he had ‘sadly not even had an interview yet’.
He told Times Radio: ‘It’s nearly three months now and I’m still without a job, right? And that’s scary.
‘I’m a father of a four-year-old and a two-year-old. I’ve got a wife who’s extremely supportive.’
He has since become a senior fellow at The Centre for Social Justice think tank and the mayor of Kidsgrove, Staffordshire.
