ROBERT Jenrick opened the door to a Tory-Reform deal after Nigel Farage’s party topped a national poll for the first time.
But he was swiftly slapped down by Tory chiefs, who scrambled to put out a statement distancing the party from any pact.
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The Shadow Justice Secretary refused to rule out an alliance with Farage weeks after Kemi Badenoch made clear she would never work with him.
The Tory leader had declared last month: “Nigel Farage says he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. Why on earth would we merge with that?”
But refusing to match her firm stance, Mr Jenrick told Never Mind The Ballots: “Reform themselves are saying they don’t want to. Reform has said repeatedly they have no intention of doing this. Kemi has said she doesn’t want to do it either.
But appearing on our Never Mind The Ballots show, Mr Jenrick left the door open to future cooperation, insisting the Tories must win back disillusioned right-wing voters.
Ms Badenoch’s former leadership rival said: “Reform themselves are saying they don’t want to. Reform has said repeatedly they have no intention of doing this. Kemi has said she has no intention.”
Mr Jenrick added: “My whole mission is to bring home all the small-c conservatives in this country back to the Conservative Party. We should be their natural home. We’re not at the moment, because of the mistakes we made in office. It can be done.”
His remarks come just as a bombshell YouGov poll put Reform one point ahead of Labour and four points clear of the Tories – heaping fresh pressure on Ms Badenoch’s leadership.
Mr Jenrick, who lost to Ms Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, also swerved questions over whether he would be polling better as leader.
He said: “Kemi is our leader. I chose to serve in the shadow cabinet because I believe she would be a success and she is working extremely hard. It’s going to be a long road.”
Labour seized on his remarks, claiming the Tories were refusing to rule out a “dodgy backroom deal” with Farage’s party.
Scrambling to distance the party from any Reform tie-up, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “Reports of a Tory-Reform pact are complete and utter nonsense. The Conservative Party will not negotiate with people who want to destroy us.”
