The former Conservative MP said speculation about a future alliance misunderstands both Reform’s long-term strategy and the ideological make-up of the modern Tories.
Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage (Image: GETTY)
Reform UK will never enter a formal pact with the Conservative Party because the two parties are now fundamentally incompatible despite their shared Brexit history, former minister Ann Widdecombe has said. The former Conservative MP for Maidstone and The Weald from 1987 to 2010, who held ministerial posts in both the Home Office and the Department of Employment, said speculation about a future alliance misunderstands both Reform’s long-term strategy and the ideological make-up of the modern Tories.
Ms Widdecombe told the Daily Express: “There won’t be any pact; that is a certainty”, pointing out that Conservatives still contained a large ideological bloc which made formal cooperation impossible. She explained: “The Conservative Party has a very large ‘wet’ neo-liberal component that has much more in common with the Lib Dems than with us.”
Reform UK’s Ann Widdecombe (Image: Getty)
Any suggestion of an electoral deal ignored that reality, Mr Widdecombe stressed, continuing: “A pact is just not realistic. Individual right-wingers coming across? Yes, that’s one thing. But a pact with a party that still contains a large number of Remainers, for example? No.”
In November 2019, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced what he described as a “unilateral Leave alliance,” withdrawing Brexit Party candidates from all 319 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2017 general election.
The decision was taken to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote and allowing what Mr Farage warned could become a “Remainer” Parliament led by Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats, potentially triggering a second referendum.
At the time, Mr Farage said: Boris Johnson’s commitment to leaving the EU by a fixed date and pursuing a Canada-style free trade agreement offered sufficient assurance that Brexit would be delivered.
Since then, relations between Mr Farage and successive Conservative leaders have deteriorated significantly. Reform’s strategy has shifted from tactical cooperation to outright competition, with Mr Farage recently arguing that a deal would “cost us votes.”
As of early 2026, Mr Farage has framed Reform’s objective as a “reverse takeover,” positioning the party as a replacement for the Conservatives rather than a junior partner. He has repeatedly said: Reform’s goal is to become the main party of the right, not to prop up a Conservative Party he has criticised over immigration and economic policy.
Ms Widdecombe continued: “The Conservative Party has always been a mix of right and left.” Different factions have prevailed at different moments, she emphasised, citing Margaret Thatcher on the right and David Cameron on the left. One wing prevails at certain times.”
The emergence of Reform has altered the political landscape by offering a new home for right-wing Conservatives, Ms Widdecombe pointed out.
She explained: “It isn’t surprising to find right-wingers there because, historically, there was nowhere else to go. But now there is somewhere else to go. That is what is making the difference.”
Speculation has grown about whether senior Conservatives—even leader Kemi Badenoch herself—could eventually jump ship, but Ms Widdecombe dismissed that suggestion.
She said: “Many stay out of loyalty—not just to the party, but to the workers in their constituencies. There is an enormous emotional tug against leaving.”
Ms Badenoch was highly unlikely to consider such a move herself, she stressed, reasoning: “Given that she is the Leader, it’s a very different matter. I don’t think leaving has even occurred to her.”
Ms Badenoch has remained one of the most vocal opponents of any deal with Reform. In January 2026, she dismissed the idea of a pact as being “for the birds” and accused defectors—who have included Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman—of having a “tantrum dressed up as politics.” She told those walking away: “We only want Conservatives.”
