Jenrick promises to 'bring coalition together' to stop Tory-Reform fight at general election

Robert Jenrick has told a private meeting he will try to ensure that the Tories and Reform do not compete against each other at the next election, saying to do so would hand a second term to Keir Starmer.

- Jessica Elgot Eleni Courea

In leaked comments obtained by Sky News, the shadow justice secretary said he would "bring this coalition together... one way or another" - though a source close to Jenrick denied he meant a pact with the party and said he was referring to voters.

The comments from the former Conservative leadership contender - who is seen as a potential replacement for Kemi Badenoch if the party's fortunes do not improve - are the clearest sign yet that the Tories do not believe they can win the next election while Reform remains an independent political force.

Speaking to the UCL Conservative Society at a dinner in late March, he said Nigel Farage's Reform was doing "well in the polls. And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene.

"And if that is the case, and I say I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case, then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the right is not united.

"And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited. I don't know about you, but I'm not prepared for that to happen.