Local Tories could go into coalition with Reform, says Badenoch

Conservative councillors could be free to go into coalition with Reform UK after next month’s local elections in England, Kemi Badenoch has said.

The Tory leader has consistently ruled out any national deal with Reform, whose leader Nigel Farage has vowed to “destroy” the Conservative Party.

But speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Mrs Badenoch suggested the picture could be different at a local level.

She said: “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.”

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'Conservative principles'

Mrs Badenoch added that local Tories would also need to “stick to Conservative principles” such as “sound money” and “not excessive government intervention”.

Despite Labour’s travails in government, the Conservatives face a difficult task on May 1.

The party continues to struggle in the polls and is defending more than half of the seats up for election, having won them in 2021 thanks in part to a Covid-19 vaccine polling bounce.

It is also under pressure from Reform in several areas, with Mr Farage’s party consistently outpolling the Conservatives at a national level.

On Thursday, Mrs Badenoch acknowledged that the local elections would be “challenging” following the party’s “historic defeat” at last year’s general election.

She said: “We can’t win everything all the time, but I want people to know that those local Conservatives are working hard for every vote.”

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