Conservative councillors could be free to go into coalition with Reform UK after next month’s local elections, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Tory leader has consistently ruled out any national deal with Reform, whose leader Nigel Farage has vowed to “destroy” the Conservative Party.
But speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Mrs Badenoch suggested the picture could be different at a local level.
She said: “I’ve seen Conservatives go into coalition with Labour, with Liberal Democrats, with Independents.
“You don’t get to have a rerun of an election at local level, so what I’m telling local leaders across the country (is) they have to do what is right for the people in their local area.”
Mrs Badenoch added that local Tories would also need to “stick to Conservative principles” such as “sound money” and “not excessive government intervention”.
Despite Labour’s travails in government, the Conservatives face a difficult task on May 1.
The party continues to struggle in the polls and is defending more than half of the seats up for election, having won them in 2021 thanks in part to a Covid-19 vaccine polling bounce.
It is also under pressure from Reform in several areas, with Mr Farage’s party consistently outpolling the Conservatives at a national level.
On Thursday, Mrs Badenoch acknowledged that the local elections would be “challenging” following the party’s “historic defeat” at last year’s general election.
She said: “We can’t win everything all the time, but I want people to know that those local Conservatives are working hard for every vote.”
The Tory leader said her party is “fighting for every seat”, but she cannot “be everywhere” at once, when asked why she was not visiting the Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
The by-election in Runcorn was triggered by the resignation of the previous MP Mike Amesbury after he was given a suspended prison sentence for punching a man in a street in Frodsham, Cheshire, in October 2024.
Mrs Badenoch told the BBC on the local election campaign: “I’m here in Lancashire, and I’m supporting county council candidates all across the country, as well as our mayoral candidates as well. I can’t be everywhere at the same time.”
Asked about reports that Conservative former minister Esther McVey said the Tories should “let Reform win” the Runcorn by-election as part of an electoral pact, Mrs Badenoch said: “That’s absolutely the wrong thing.
“We need to make sure that people always have the option to vote Conservative, and that’s the message that I’m taking out for these local government elections on May 1.
“These are not an opinion poll. It’s about who’s going to run your services.”
She added: “We are fighting every seat that we can possibly fight. Conservatives do not stand down for any other party.”
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: “Now it’s crystal clear: if you vote Reform or Conservative, you’re opening the door to more of the Tory chaos that held our country back over the past 14 years.
“Kemi Badenoch and her Conservative Party left our NHS at breaking point and Nigel Farage wants to make patients pay for healthcare when they’re sick. Just imagine what they’d do together.
“Only this Labour Government has a plan for change that is turning our country around, delivering security for working people and renewal for our country.”
Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the two parties had “merged in all but name” under Mrs Badenoch’s leadership.
She added: “You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between Badenoch and Farage when it comes to their policies. It’s clear the Conservatives have totally abandoned the centre ground.”
