The Conservatives have ruled out making any sort of pre-election pact with Nigel Farage in exchange for him not standing for Reform UK at the general election, saying: “We don’t do deals.”
The statement, coming after Labour called on Downing Street to dismiss the mooted idea that Farage could be made the UK’s ambassador to Washington, risks angering Tory backbenchers, who are increasingly anxious at the likely impact of Reform on their re-election chances.
Some Conservative MPs had called for Farage to be given the US post if he agreed not to have a frontline election role with Reform, which he founded but does not lead, or potentially to offer him a peerage, according to reports.
While Reform are already polling at up to 16%, only five points behind the Conservatives, under the leadership of Richard Tice, Tory strategists are known to be alarmed at the idea of Farage, who now has a mainly backseat role, becoming heavily involved in the election campaign.
Farage has yet to say what he will do at the election and has many lucrative media commitments, including for GB News and in the US. But there has been speculation he could stand in the Tory-held seat of Clacton, formerly held by Ukip, which he led at the time.
Before the 2019 election, the Brexit party, the former name of Reform, stood aside in Tory-held seats, notably helping Boris Johnson to victory.
The idea of Farage being made ambassador to the US to keep him out of the election prompted condemnation from Labour.
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, had said Sunak “must rule out this dangerous and desperate deal that risks threatening international unity against Russian aggression and undermining vital support for Ukraine”.
Farage has previously said the west should consider negotiations with Russia over Ukraine, and is a noted supporter of Donald Trump, who has argued the same.
A Conservative spokesperson said Labour was “making things up”, calling the demand over Farage “a desperate attempt from Keir Starmer and Labour to distract voters from serious questions Angela Rayner must answer” over claims the Labour deputy leader potentially broke rules over capital gains tax, which she vehemently denies.
Asked if this meant Downing Street was ruling out both the specific idea of offering Farage the ambassadorial role, and any other sort of pre-election deal with him, the spokesperson said this was the case, adding: “We don’t do deals.”
Reform has scored at 10% or above in some recent byelections, a performance that makes it unlikely it will secure an MP in the general election – with the potential exception of Farage – but sufficient to take enough votes from the Conservatives that they could lose more seats to other parties.
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In a Sky News interview on Thursday, Richard Holden, the Conservative party chair, declined to rule out the idea of a deal with Farage. Asked several times if he could be made Washington ambassador, Holden told Sky News: “What Nigel Farage does, and the Reform party, is totally up to them,” adding: “All I would say is, it’s irrelevant to what people are talking about on the ground.”
Ashworth said: “Rishi Sunak’s weakness leaves him pandering to the extremists in his party. Rishi Sunak must put national interest before the Conservative party. No secret negotiations to keep the Farage wolf from the Tory door.
“If the prime minister refuses to publicly rule out such a desperate deal, it will be clearer than ever that Rishi Sunak is too weak to act in the national interest.”
Before the 2019 election, the Brexit party stood aside in Tory-held seats, notably helping Boris Johnson.
