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The Conservatives are being accused of making a last-ditch attempt to persuade Reform UK candidates to leave the party and support Conservative candidates in an attempt to mitigate losses in Thursday’s general election.
Reform Party chairman Richard Tice claimed his party’s candidates had been contacted by Conservative colleagues around the country offering “jobs and safe seats” in future by-elections in exchange for defecting to Reform.
Tice, who is standing for the Boston-Skegness constituency, I In one incident, a Reform Party candidate was apparently asked to make “false racist allegations” about the party as part of a deal with the Conservative Party.
He also alleged that the Conservative Party may have breached electoral law in its approach to his candidate.
“Many of the Conservative candidates, at the request of Conservative HQ, have been contacting our candidates, demanding private meetings, trying to get them to resign, support the Conservative Party and make false defamatory allegations against us. [Reform],” He said.
The Conservative party declined to comment, and it is unclear whether the directive came from party headquarters, as Tice claims.
“We believe this may violate election law and our legal counsel is advising us on this,” Tice added.
One such attempt appears to have taken place in Slough on Monday, when Conservative candidate Moni Kaur Nanda is said to have sent an email to her Reform Party rival Robin Jackson.
The email, believed to have been written by Mr Nanda, calls on Mr Jackson to resign and may be an attempt to improve Mr Nanda’s chances of victory against Labor candidate Tan Dhesi, who is the favourite to retain the seat.
Who saw the email? IHe asked Mr Jackson to “support me as the former reformer did in Rochford, Southend… do the right thing… let’s work together. I know you’re a decent man.”
In June, Reform Party candidate Leslie Lillee, for Southend East, was removed from the party’s running roster after a 2020 Facebook post in which she allegedly threatened to “slaughter” migrants arriving in small boats.
The email further argues that Jackson’s endorsement of Nanda “will garner more media coverage than Thursday’s defeat.”
Jackson said: I It was a “desperate” act.
“Yes, I’ve been in contact with her,” Jackson said. “She’s basically said in every message that the Reform Party will split the vote and she wants me to resign.”
“She’s always trying to meet with me one-on-one, so obviously she has something to say.
“I don’t want to meet one-on-one. I don’t want to confuse the situation and I’m not willing to compromise. I find this approach desperate.”
Recent opinion polls have put Mr Nanda in a distant second position to Labour’s Mr Dhesi, but the race could be close if Mr Jackson’s reformist supporters follow the Conservative candidate.
Nanda declined to comment.
Theis said the efforts to distance candidates from reformers are “more desperate.” “Corruption by the Conservative Party…coordinated by CCHQ, the centre of all dirty tricks.”
Two members have left Nigel Farage’s party to join the Conservatives over allegations of racism that have dogged the party in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the Reform Party candidate in West Ham and Beckton, east London, dropped his campaign and switched to the Conservatives, citing “the vast majority” of his fellow candidates as “racists, misogynists and bigots”.
George Davyd She said she was “frustrated and disappointed” that Mr Farage had not addressed the candidate’s issues.
Reform said it was “sad and strange” that David had decided to support the Conservatives without raising her concerns with the party leadership, adding: “We strongly disagree with her broad-brush comments about the ‘vast majority’ of more than 600 candidates, the vast majority of whom she has never met.”
David’s departure comes just two days after Erewash Reform candidate Liam Booth-Isherwood also switched to the Conservatives, citing “reports of widespread racism and sexism” among Reform candidates and saying there were “serious moral issues” within parts of the party.
2024 Election
The general election campaign is nearing its final stages with the July 4 polling day fast approaching. Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and other party leaders have been battling for votes for six weeks. I‘s election live blog has been covering this from the beginning.
Each party has published their manifesto, with the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK explaining why people should vote. Read IManifestos comparing each of the major parties’ promises on issues such as the NHS, education, defence, devolution, tax, spending, HS2 and housing.
Before you head to the polls on Thursday, you can read the polls, see which races are likely to be won or lost, be informed about who you’ll vote for, and prepare for the weather.