Alongside CapX’s new weekly podcast The Capitalist, we’ll also be publishing a series of episodes, titled Despatch, which offer an audio version of some of our favourite pieces from the site.

This week, it’s Will Atkinson’s analysis of the prospects of a Tory-Reform pact.

Farage seems to be a black hole sucking in Tory members, donors, voters and, if rumours are true, MPs. The prospect of Reform ending the Conservatives’ 300-odd years as one of Britain’s two major parties suddenly seems realistic. For some Tories wanting to avoid that, the solution seems obvious: cut a deal.

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What this looks like depends on which rumours you believe – whether it’s a full-blown merger a la their Canadian namesakes, or a similar agreement to that which CCHQ and Farage came to in 2019, with candidates stepping down in seats which the other party already holds or is best placed to win.

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Doesn’t this make sense? Both parties believe in strong borders and low taxes, even if the Tories haven’t been the best at making those a reality. All agree that Keir Starmer’s Government is a disaster. If you put the two vote shares together, it would be double Labour’s. A Tory-Reform coalition could smash the Left in 2029 and implement exactly the sort of firmly right-wing agenda that Britain needs.

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So far, so Panglossian. But I’m sorry to say that I don’t share the optimism. Don’t get me wrong: I agree with Reform’s analysis of #FourteenWastedYears, find Farage’s antics entertaining, and enjoy Rupert Lowe’s tweets just as much as the next terminally online Sensitive Young Man. But supplicating before Reform isn’t the answer for a Conservative Party facing an existential crisis. 

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Marc Sidwell is the editor of CapX.