Infighting leads Kemi Badenoch to rule out alliance with Reform UK
Kemi Badenoch has again ruled out a “monstrous” pact with Reform as she hits out at infighting within Nigel Farage’s party, reports BritPanorama.
The Conservative leader dismissed Reform UK as “people fighting all the time” while insisting that voters would not support a “monstrous Reform-Conservative hybrid.” This statement comes just days after Tim Montgomerie was suspended from Reform for publicly criticising home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf for not being a “team player.”
In recent weeks, Montgomerie has been openly critical of Yusuf and even suggested in a podcast that “Nigel has fallen out of love with Zia.” Badenoch referred to these internal disputes as she reiterated her dismissal of a Tory pact with Farage, a notion that Reform UK has also rejected.
“[Reform is] just people fighting all the time,” she reportedly told Iain Dale at Edinburgh Fringe. “Nigel Farage dictates what he wants depending on what he had for breakfast that day, and they’re all over the place. How do I work with people like that?”
Reflecting on her party’s victory in the Aberdeen South by-election in June, Badenoch added: “If Reform had stood down in Aberdeen, no one would have believed we’d have won it on our own. They would have said we only got there because of Reform. So that’s why I say no deals.”
She further emphasised, “What I want is a Conservative government, not a monstrous Reform-Conservative hybrid, which will actually put as many people off as it gains.”
Montgomerie, in response to his suspension, stated on the BBC’s Newsnight programme that he intends to challenge the decision, describing it as “censorship” that is detrimental to the party.
“I’m gonna make this a test case of whether it is a party that can tolerate free speech and dissent,” he said. Montgomerie believes in the importance of Reform’s policies, particularly regarding immigration, crime, and welfare issues.
Reports indicate that Montgomerie was suspended prior to his interview, with Reform asserting that its general secretary and chair had received multiple complaints about his behaviour. They determined that action was necessary to protect the party.
A senior source within Reform indicated that the party would not engage in what they termed the “Tory briefing wars and toxicity.” They suggested that appropriate disagreements should be resolved privately, rather than in the national media.
