- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has ruled out an electoral pact with Reform UK, saying that voters would not support a “monstrous Reform-Conservative hybrid”.
- Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe, Badenoch criticised Nigel Farage's party over its internal disputes, saying its members are “fighting all the time”.
- Badenoch pointed to the Conservatives' Aberdeen South by-election victory as evidence that the party can succeed without assistance from Reform UK.
- Her comments follow the suspension of Tim Montgomerie from Reform UK after he publicly criticised the party's home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf.
- Mr Montgomerie declared he will fight his suspension to test free speech within Reform UK, while party officials defended the decision to maintain internal discipline.
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