Leader says electoral deal now would cost his party votes but he aims to continue winning over defectors

Nigel Farage has said Reform UK is aiming for a “reverse takeover” of the Conservatives, after some donors claimed he would be open to a formal pact if Kemi Badenoch was not the Tory leader.

Farage denied a report that he had told donors an electoral deal was “inevitable” but he acknowledged he would like to in effect absorb the party by winning over defectors and replacing it.

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