Conservative and Reform voters are nearly twice as likely to back a merger between the two parties than not, according to a poll which suggests splits on the right could be pushing Rishi Sunak towards an historic
The splits highlight the difficult choices the next Conservatives leader may face as they try and rebuild a voter coalition after what is expected to be a drubbing in the general election, in which the public is equally divided between backing the Tories and Reform . One of the factors a new Tory leader is likely to consider is how to bring back voters the Tories have lost since 2019, with just 20 per cent saying they were likely to consider voting for the party again on 4 July, compared to 69 per cent who say it is unlikely they will even consider it.
“Sunak called the election, hoping to squeeze the Reform vote, make up some ground on Labour and assure Tory-leaning ‘don’t knows’ that they should support his party. In many respects, the exact opposite has happened.