Jacob Rees-Mogg urges Tories to step aside in nearly 100 seats so Reform can win

has floated the idea of the Tories standing aside in almost 100 seats where Reform UK came second behind Labour.

Speaking at a Popular Conservative event at the Tory conference in Birmingham, argued that the should make the party led by a “big and generous offer” in a bid to improve their own election chances.

The former Cabinet minister, who lost his seat in North East Somerset to Labour in July, told attendees the party should “for once model ourselves on and make a big and generous offer…”.

“What if we were to say at the next election, as we did to the liberal unionists, we will not oppose Reform in those 98 seats?” he said. “I would certainly be open to that as a real opportunity for Reform to win seats from Labour.”

“I think it would help us, it will help them. And we will not win if we do not reunite,” added.

But he said rather than a “unilateral offer” an agreement should be sought between the parties, while stressing that this didn’t need to be done “immediately”, reports.

The race for the next Tory leader to replace is underway, and the former business secretary said he would encourage Sunak’s successor to “start having the occasional dinner with Nigel” in order to “build a personal relationship” and “some element of trust” between the parties with a view to doing “something at the general election”.

insisted Tory votes weren’t stolen by Reform in the national vote, which Labour won by a landslide, adding: “Be generous to Reform, don’t blame them for the defeat, because it was our fault.

“It was a made in the Conservative Party defeat, not Reform stole out votes. You cannot steal people’s votes. You’ve got to win them.”

Reform came second to Labour in 98 seats at the general election of which 89 were won by ‘s party. And though Reform only won five seats in total, previous analysis by the newspaper suggested the populist party’s surge may have cost the 80 constituencies.

Former negotiator Lord Frost also said the may have to “contemplate” forming a pact with Reform if voters don’t move back towards the party before the next General Election, saying: “My starting point is we can’t possibly win the next election if the right is divided. That’s just a given, it’s simply not going to happen.

“Therefore the question is how do we make sure that situation doesn’t happen? In an ideal world I would say we become a strong Conservative Party again,” he said, adding: “We’d begin to bring voters and supporters back from Reform and there’s no need for Reform in those circumstances. That may or may not be the case.

“If we’re a year or two out from an election and we’re still very divided on the Right that will be a very sort of different situation and we’ll have to contemplate different things.”

He argued that is currently the best way to “reconstitute the party around genuine Conservative policies which appeal to the voters who left us”.

But , who hasn’t yet endorsed any of the leadership hopefuls, claimed that former PM would be a better pick, telling the event that the the race hadn’t been “very exciting” thus far.

Branding the Prime Minister “Sir Ditchwater”, he claimed someone “more exciting” could expose the Labour leader’s “flaws” and “limitations”.