The Conservative party is braced for a beating in local elections next week and the conversation has already turned to potential pacts with Reform UK. It is an old topic given fresh impetus by the revelation that Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, discussed the prospects of a “coalition” to “unite the right” at a meeting of Tory activists last month.
Whether that means a formal deal or some looser alignment, there is an obvious electoral rationale for the proposition. But its public endorsement is still taboo in a party that sees itself as the natural ruling authority in Britain, only occasionally and temporarily forced to sojourn in opposition.
