Is Farage seriously angling for a pact with the Tories?

Nigel Farage denounced what he called “a false story” in the Financial Times on Tuesday night.

- JOHN RENTOUL

It reported that he had told donors that he “expects a deal or merger between his Reform UK party and the Conservatives ahead of the next general election”. The story suggested two possibilities: one is a pre-election pact by which Reform and the Tories would stand down in each other's favour in constituencies; the other is a full merger, in which Reform would be the dominant force. The article also suggested that a different donor had suggested that a merger was “inevitable” but that it “might take some time”, which could be after the next election.

What did Farage say?

Farage said in a post on X: “The idea I’d work with them is ludicrous.” He said that “after 14 years of dishonesty and lies”, the Tories “should never be forgiven... They betrayed my trust in 2019 and we will ensure they cease to be a national party in May.”

This was a reference to the unilateral arrangement of the 2019 election, when Farage stood down candidates for the Brexit Party - as Reform was then known - in Tory target seats in order to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote.

Boris Johnson then “betrayed” him by negotiating what Farage thought was a bad Brexit deal and by allowing immigration from outside the EU to get “out of control”.

But Farage was also quoted by the