Kemi Badenoch must work with Nigel Farage to stop Labour, most senior Tory MP tells GB News

The Gainsborough MP, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 1983, said that "dozens" of Tory MPs could be with him.

Under Sir Edward's plan, the Tories and Reform would not fight each other in seats where the other is most likely to win.

Sir Edward made a direct appeal to Mrs Badenoch and Mr Farage in an interview with Chopper's Political Podcast.

He said: "My appeal to you, Nigel and Kemi, is to realise that our policies are almost exactly the same.

"Under a first-past-the-post system, unless we have some sort of alliance, as night follows day, Kemi and Nigel, there will be an even more left-wing Government.

"So let's work together and be nice to each other, stop criticising each other and realise that we agree on virtually everything."

Sir Edward continued: "My personal view is that in the first-past-the-post system, if you have two or now three right-wing parties all competing for votes in every single constituency, as night follows day, there will be another Labour Government.

"So there has to be some sort of accommodation to ensure that we don't split the vote in all these constituencies."

Sir Edward said he wanted talks about a deal between the two parties to start now.

He added: "I think every Tory MP – or most of them realise – this is inevitable.

"Some of them, like me, think that we should have an accommodation fairly soon before candidates start to be selected."

Sir Edward, who faces a huge threat from Reform UK in his Gainsborough seat, said that right-wing parties had to get organised, as the left will do all they can to keep Reform UK out of power.

The 75-year-old added: "There will never be a Reform Government with an overall majority and all of the left-wing parties, the Greens, the Liberals, the SNP, will absolutely ensure ... that there is no Reform Government."

He added: "Our policies for Reform and the Conservative Party are almost exactly the same on immigration, on green issues.

"My only argument with Reform, by the way, and this is me speaking personally, is that I'm more right-wing than them because I'm a Thatcherite."

Sir Edward continued: "I say this to Kemi, I say to Nigel, I agree – have a sort of critique of each other's policies.

"But be nice, calm down, work out where we all agree and come to some accommodation."

Sir Edward suggested that the Tories should apologise to Mr Farage for an apparent lack of gratitude after he stood down hundreds of Brexit Party candidates ahead of the 2019 general election to maximise the chances of a Tory landslide.

He said: "I think that Boris treated Nigel very badly. We should have at least said thank you.

"We should have given him a peerage, made him ambassador to Washington. We should have made him Minister for Immigration. You will not find any criticism of Reform by me."

However, Mrs Badenoch today poured cold water on an alliance with Reform UK to keep Labour out of power.

After The Spectator reported the Leader of the Opposition had opened the door to propping up Mr Farage as Prime Minister, Mrs Badenoch said: "This is b******t.

"What I actually said is we 'cannot have another left-wing Government. But I'm afraid that Reform has quite a lot of left-wing ideas. They want more benefits. They want nationalisation'.

"I then said. On deals, non-aggression pacts and so on...I'm just saying no. It's just no, no, no, no, no, no, no'."

It was initially reported that Mrs Badenoch had simply said the UK "cannot have another left-wing Government".

Tory sources have stressed Mrs Badenoch intends to win the next general election.