Tory backbenchers finally turned their guns on Reform today as the parties battle for rightwing election votes.
At the same time Sir David Davis, the former Brexit minister, dismissed the idea of the two parties coming together after an election defeat on July 4, something floated by Mr Farage. Robert Jenrick , the former immigration minister, warned that voting for Reform would allow Labour to take power with so many seats it would amount to an 'elective dictatorship'.
And today in a round of media interviews Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, failed to even say Mr Farage's name when asked about the threat Reform pose. 'But, ultimately, a vote for Reform will only give Labour a blank cheque to take our country back to the 1970s.' The analysis suggests Plaid Cymru are on track for two seats and the Greens would hold Brighton Pavilion.
'The hopes of Conservative candidates are being shot to pieces by poll after poll showing the Conservative Party in increasingly dire straits - and we're only halfway through the campaign.