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Louise Thomas
Editor
A new survey commissioned by a right-wing think tank has suggested that 53 per cent of Conservative Party members would support a merger with Reform UK.
A huge 70 per cent said they would want a closer relationship with Nigel Farage’s party, the survey showed.
The poll, conducted between 23-27 September, surveyed 470 Tory members. It was carried out by the right-wing Popular Conservatism (PopCon) organisation, which was founded by Liz Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, PopCon’s head of communications and a former Brexit Party MEP, said: “Every Conservative activist and canvasser knows people who had been Tories, but voted Reform UK in July.
“It is no surprise our panellists understand that the next leader of the party needs to take action to bring many like-minded voters back to the Tories.
“Almost three-quarters want a relationship with Reform in order to unite the right.”
Ms Rees-Mogg’s brother Sir Jacob, a former Conservative cabinet minister who lost his seat to Labour at the last election, has called for the Tories to strike an electoral pact with the smaller party.
Like Mr Farage, Sir Jacob is a presenter on GB News and has been close to the Reform leader for many years. He was part of an effort to woo Mr Farage at last year’s Tory conference.
Speaking on the fringes of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Monday, he suggested the Tories should stand aside in nearly 100 seats where Reform came second to Labour at the last election.
Reform UK won five seats and 4 million votes at the last general election.
Sir Jacob called for his party to make a “big and generous offer” in a bid to unite the right.
Speaking about his party’s defeat at the last general election, the former MP said: “What if we were to say at the next election, as we did to the liberal unionists, we will not oppose Reform in those 98 seats?
“I think it would help us, it will help them. And we will not win if we do not reunite.”
The Tory party, which is in the throes of a leadership contest, won 244 fewer seats at the last general election than in 2019.
Pollster Sir John Curtice said the party must “think of strategies that enable them to deal with smaller parties”.
“The Conservatives cannot now afford to ignore the smaller parties. For the time being, it looks like we’re much closer to multi-party politics,” he said at an event on the fringes of the conference on Sunday.
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