Great Britain: British Conservatives rule out cooperation with Reform UK

The leader of the British Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, has ruled out working with the right-wing populist Reform UK party. "To those who say 'unite the right' - we are not uniting with that," said Badenoch in her closing speech at the Tories' party conference in Birmingham. »They are not like us, we are not like them. We are different. We are the Conservative Party.«

Many of the right-wing populist voters actually belonged to the Conservative electorate, Badenoch continued. "We failed them and we want them to return home."

Badenoch said in a BBC interview on Tuesday that the Tories had a chance of winning the next election because of the volatile political situation. However, she immediately qualified: "I'm not saying that we would win."

The current surveys would therefore instead point to a parliament without a clear majority, in which no party has an absolute majority. Badenoch said their prediction is that there will be another election immediately afterwards. In their opinion, the Conservatives are the only credible alternative to Labor.

During her speech, Badenoch promised tax cuts if she won the election. For example, she said she wanted to completely abolish inheritance tax as soon as the British government could financially support it. "I believe that people who work hard and save should be rewarded for their efforts," said Badenoch. Inheritance tax is regularly cited in surveys as the UK's most unpopular tax, despite only around five per cent of estates being affected by it.

The next election, which is not scheduled to take place until 2029, is a "battle for the soul of this nation, a battle of ideas," said the party leader. The 46-year-old has been leader of the Tories since November 2024 and, as an individual politician, enjoys higher popularity ratings than her party.