Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has warned his party against becoming Reform Britain in a pitch to party members.
Tugendhat, speaking on the main stage at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, said the Conservatives needed to “rebuild trust” with the public after their historic election defeat in July.
Rival leadership candidate Kemi Badenock said she was ready to work with Nigel Farage’s party in parliament but ruled out signing an electoral deal.
Tugendhat and Badenock were the first contenders to speak in the main hall, with Robert Jenrick and James Cleverley getting their chance on Tuesday.
Both candidates were interviewed by News UK political editor Christopher Hope before taking questions from party members.
In July, the Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in the party’s parliamentary history at the general election, losing votes to the left-wing Liberal Democrats and the right-wing Reform UK party.
Asked whether the Lib Dems or reformists were the biggest enemy, Tugendhat, from the party’s centrist One Nation, said: “The enemy is trust. We have eroded trust in ourselves and we need to rebuild trust in the Conservatives trust”.
He believes people did not vote for Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to become prime minister.
“They voted against us. People wake up in the morning and they want us out,” he added.
Asked whether he would strike a deal with Mr Farage, he said: “My job is to reform the Conservative Party, not to be the reform party.”
When the same question was put to Badenock, she said “anyone who is not a Conservative must be defeated”.
She believes that reform politicians are not “real Conservatives” and “not serious people”, but that reform voters “are our people”.
Asked if she would strike a deal with Farage’s party, she said: “I’m always ready to work with any other party that wants to help us achieve our agenda. I think that’s OK in parliament, but not at an election. .
She added: “We must be the choice of the centre-right at the next election. If we split the vote we will lose power for another five years and Labor will destroy the country.”
