There is a 70% chance of the Conservatives and Reform UK merging before the next general election, according to a senior Tory MP. Sir Edward Leigh, who is the Father of the House as the longest-serving male parliamentarian, predicted that the two Right-wing parties were likely to team up.

If a general election were held tomorrow, 25 percent of British voters would choose Reform, YouGov poll suggests.

Reform UK has gone ahead of Labour and the Tories for the first time in a major poll. A survey of Brits’ voting intentions by YouGov, conducted on Sunday and Monday, put the right-wing party on 25%, a point ahead of Labour on 24% and four ahead of the Tories on 21%. The Liberal Democrats have stayed on 14% and the Greens remain on 9%.

Clearly excited at the prospect of a second 'America First' policy agenda in the White House, Nigel Farage set out a clear UK First message in London on Wednesday. The target was energy and scrapping net zero, with Farage and deputy Reform UK leader Richard Tice attacking a cosy Westminster consensus on the subject.