Prime Minister Keir Starmer savaged Nigel Farage after he allegedly told donors he expects a deal or merger between his party and the Conservatives before the next election
PMQs: Starmer warns of ‘unholy’ alliance between Tories and Reform
Keir Starmer has said a pact between Reform and the Tories would be an “unholy alliance of austerity and failure”.
The Prime Minister savaged Nigel Farage after he allegedly told donors he expects a deal or merger between his party and the Conservatives before the next election.
It comes after Reform donors told the Financial Times that Mr Farage thought it “inevitable” his party would make an agreement with the Tories – this is despite both Ms Badenoch and Mr Farage having previously ruled it out.
In a lively exchange at Prime Minister’s Question, Mr Starmer turned his critics’ attacks on supposed Budget leaks back on them, criticising the Conservatives for “leaking” ex-MPs to Reform UK, after a series of recent defections. And he slammed Mr Farage over his leaked comments to donors.
READ MORE: Watch PMQs live: Keir Starmer accuses Kemi Badenoch of ‘completely losing the plot’
Mr Starmer was responding to Tory MP George Freeman, who was recently victim of an AI deepfake that claimed he’d joined Reform UK. Mr Freeman said: “I was recently the target of an AI deepfake video announcing my defection to Reform, and as colleagues across the House will know that that’s about as likely as Reform moving from pub populism to a coherent programme for government.
“I’m delighted to assure reassure my Chief Whip on the House that I am and always have been a faithful Conservative.
“But does the Prime Minister agree with me that while satire has always been an important part of our politics, the rise of AI deepfake disruption is a serious threat to our democracy and would you agree to work with me and cross-party MPs to frame some appropriate reforms, as proposed by the recent Speaker’s Conference to protect our democratic integrity?”
Mr Starmer responded: “Well, I can I thank you for raising that. And it is an important issue. We do need to work, cross-party where we can on on deepfake, on AI and other issues that need to be addressed. I had, I’m afraid, missed his, alleged defection to Reform. I wouldn’t believe that, if I had seen in it.
“But I have to say there’s a lot of them going, there’s three ex-employees have gone, I think, this week. They talk about leaks. That’s where their leaks are going – to Reform.
“And I saw a leak, talking of leaks, on the front page of the Financial Times this morning where, apparently leader of Reform says he wants to merge with the party and sit down here with them. An absolutely unholy alliance of austerity and failure.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesman later said: “The Tories are so desperate they would happily do a deal to put Nigel Farage in Number 10.
“It’s why so many former lifelong Conservative voters are turning to the Liberal Democrats as the only party that will defend traditional British values of decency, tolerance and the rule of law.”