John Major tells Tories alliance with Reform would be beyond stupid'

"The former prime minister dismissed a pact with Nigel Farage's party as beyond stupid, saying that any Tories tempted to defect to Reform should go now because his own party would be better off without them. As the Tories struggle with the existential threat posed by Reform's surge in popularity, Major warned far more than the future of the party was at stake with autocracies on the march across the world."

"In a wide-ranging criticism of the current direction, Major accused the Tories of a loss of pragmatism, tolerance and nuance, and of ignoring the 43% of the nation's voters in the political centre. The party must change or cease to be relevant, he said. To embrace such a narrow philosophy shrinks the party from being a broad-based national movement to resembling a petty and mean-minded cult. The party needs its right wing, its centre, and centre-left Conservatives back together in the fold. If that can be done, then we may once again widen our appeal and be a power in the land."

John Major said forming an alliance with Reform UK would destroy the Conservative Party. He described a pact with Nigel Farage's party as beyond stupid and warned the party has lurched too far right, leaving supporters politically homeless. Kemi Badenoch supports Brexit, is committed to scrapping the UK's net‑zero 2050 target and cutting overseas aid by £7bn, while moderates fear right‑wing influence from figures such as Robert Jenrick threatens one‑nation Conservatism. Major accused the party of losing pragmatism, tolerance and nuance and of ignoring 43% of voters in the political centre, calling for unity across right, centre and centre‑left to regain relevance.

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