Ex-Tory MPs who defected to Reform UK will not be able to return to the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch has told GB News.
Mrs Badenoch, who extended an olive branch to Reform UK voters to switch to the Tories, dismissed claims Mr Farage was able to fill a hall of 4,000 people while the Conservative Party Conference was noticeably quieter.
Speaking to the People’s Channel from Birmingham, the Tory leader 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, are people who just cause problems.
“You talked about their conference, but 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.”
When GB News asked for clarification on whether Reform UK MPs could return to the Tories, Mrs Badenoch said: “No. 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.”
Mrs Badenoch lost four sitting MPs to Reform UK in her first two years as Tory leader, with Danny Kruger, Robert Jenrick, Andrew Rosindell and Suella Braverman crossing the floor.
However, Reform UK also managed to recruit around 20 ex-Tory MPs to join Mr Farage’s ranks, including ex-Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries.
Despite imposing a blanket ban on Reform UK MPs, the Tories have accepted defections at a local level.
There had been speculation that wannabe defectors would be placed in a six-month “quarantine” before being returned to the Conservative fold.
Meanwhile, Reform UK said Tories would no longer be able to make the switch after May 7.
Despite Mrs Badenoch reaching out to Reform UK voters, polling guru Sir John Curtice revealed the Tories continue to lose voters to Mr Farage.
Speaking at a fringe event ahead of her interview with Britain’s News Channel, Sir John said: “Essentially, the fundamental structural problem you still face is that Nigel Farage whipped from underneath your feet the coalition that elected Boris Johnson to get Brexit done.
“You’ve made a bit of progress in getting it back, but there’s still a long way to go, and that still remains, in a sense, your fundamental challenge.”
While Reform UK’s support is down from highs of 30 per cent this time last year, the Tories still find themselves in third place amongst most pollsters.
Conservative losses since the last general election have predominantly been as a result of Tories switching to Reform UK.
Sir John revealed one in four 2024 Tories currently support Reform UK, down from one in three this time last year.
When asked how Mrs Badenoch could win over Reform UK’s supporters, Sir John concluded: “You’re losing a barrelload of voters still to Reform, and you’re losing nothing to anybody else, while really only picking up handfuls.”
However, some figures in the Conservative Party want the right to unite in order to defeat Labour at the next general election.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg is a leading advocate of an alliance ahead of 2029.
He said: “There’s very little difference between the two parties in policy terms. And if we don’t, we will have the most left-wing administration this country has seen in recent times.”
Sir Jacob also insisted Mr Farage, whom he described as a “friend”, has never personally approached him to defect to Reform UK.