Kemi Badenoch guidelines out Nigel Farage pact after blistering tirade in opposition to ex-Tory leaders

Floundering Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a merger with Nigel Farage’s Reform after being challenged over him becoming “the voice of the right”.

Ms Badenoch used a speech in central London to blast her predecessors for a string of mistakes as she claimed the party has changed. This is despite every one of her shadow cabinet members having previously served as a minister in Conservative Governments.

The Tory leader was accused of being in “complete denial” as she insisted she is “doing a serious job”. Ms Badenoch is under pressure after a YouGov poll put Reform on 25% – three points above the Conservatives. But asked about a merger, Ms Badenoch said: “Nigel Farage says he wants to destroy the Conservative Party. Why on earth would we merge with that?”

In her speech, in which she did not announce any new policies, Ms Badenoch was challenged by journalists over Mr Farage’s prominence. She whined: “”Nigel Farage has been knocking around for 20 plus years. He’s been leading all sorts of different parties, so he has had a head start.

“I’ve been leading the Conservative Party for 10 weeks. Let’s see where we are in a few months and years.”

In a blistering tirade against former senior Tories, she accused leaders of telling the public “what they wanted to hear” despite having no plan. She said: “These mistakes were made because we told people what they wanted to hear first and then tried to work it out later.”

Following her speech Labour chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: “Kemi Badenoch is in complete denial. Far from rebuilding trust, Kemi Badenoch still can’t bring herself to be honest about the true litany of mistakes the Conservatives made over 14 years of failure in government.

“Where was the apology for her role in Liz Truss‘ disastrous mini-Budget that crashed the economy and sent mortgages spiralling, or the £22 billion black hole left in the public finances?

“The Tories haven’t listened and they haven’t learned and Kemi Badenoch should own up to the damage she and the Conservative Party have done to the country.”