Badenoch warns Tories they will not be allowed back if they defect to Reform as she rules out coalition with Farage

Badenoch warns Tories they will not be allowed back if they defect to Reform as she rules out coalition with Farage The Conservative Party leader also said she would rather fight two general elections in quick succession than form a coalition with Nigel Farage’s party in a hung parliament - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Kemi Badenoch has issued a warning to wavering Tory MPs, insisting that anyone who defects to Reform UK will not be allowed back into her party. While the Tory leader said she wants “Reform voters to come back to us”, she insisted that the MPs “who left are party…are people who just cause problems”. She made the remarks on day three of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, where the party has sought to win back voters they lost at the last election. Speaking to GB News, Mrs Badenoch said: "I want Reform voters to come back to us. The people in Reform as politicians, the MPs, especially the ones who left our party, they are people who just cause problems. “Their conference… it was overshadowed by an exposé and scandals. You know, they deny it, but they keep having these problems. "Their leader in Wales had to step down after being arrested. The one before him is in prison for taking bribes from Russia. I don't want to do a deal with those types of people. I want Reform voters to come back to us, back to the Conservative Party.” Pressed on whether she would want Reform MPs to return to the Tories, she said: “No.” Mrs Badenoch added: "No, many of them... They're the ones who cause the problems in the first place, and now they want to pretend they had nothing to do with it.” The Conservative Party leader also said she would rather fight two general elections in quick succession than form a coalition with Nigel Farage’s party in a hung parliament. She said party members at their annual conference felt “happy because we know who we are” despite remaining third in opinion polls behind Labour and Reform. Asked by the BBC if her party’s happy mood meant it was collectively in denial, the Tory leader said: “We are feeling chipper because we are going back to first principles.” On the first day of the conference, Mrs Badenoch published a treatise setting out core tenets of her political philosophy as the conference started, titled ‘The Right Way’. But she acknowledged the party was “not out of the woods yet” after its crippling 2024 general election defeat, with polling showing its popularity is even lower than at that time. She added: “People at conference aren’t happy because we’re about to win an election, we’re happy because we know who we are. We’re not afraid to say what we think, and we’re prepared to fight for what we believe. “And that’s the message that we’re taking out to the country. And when people see that we’re a different Conservative Party, they will vote for us.” Mrs Badenoch claimed the “volatile” nature of politics means the Tories could win at the next election. She added: “I’m not saying that we would win. The current polling shows a hung parliament, no party getting an overall majority. “My prediction is that there would be another election immediately after. But we’re the only credible alternative to Labour, only ones with a plan. Look at what we talked about on defence today.” Asked if she would consider a coalition with Reform in a hung parliament, she appeared to rule out the possibility, telling the BBC: “I have said that we would have another election if there was no overall majority.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments