Rishi Sunak reportedly held secret talks about a last-minute strategy to challenge Labour in Red Wall seats by proposing candidates on a joint Conservative-Reform UK ticket, according to allegations.

New revelations published by the Telegraph suggest that high-level discussions took place within the Tory party regarding potential collaboration with Reform to target Labour at the polls. The paper alleges that the former Prime Minister had a phone call and a face-to-face meeting with Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a critic of Sunak and former ally of Boris Johnson, who is said to be sympathetic to Reform UK.

Dame Andrea reportedly had lunch with Nigel Farage and met with Reform chairman Richard Tice. She stated that she requested a meeting with Rishi Sunak. She said: "We discussed the state of the party, my vote of no confidence, disunity in the party, the awful by-election results, how we were haemorrhaging votes. I suggested to him Red Wall candidates running on a joint Tory-Reform ticket. He was definitely in listening mode. He said there was a lot to think about."

Despite media attention, those who are less hysterical have cast doubt on the headlines. The media has highlighted Dame Andrea’s reported conversations with Nigel Farage and Richard Tice, but her statements do not definitively suggest there was any imminent deal. While she did discuss the Conservative Party's issues and proposed a joint ticket strategy with Farage and Tice, it remains unclear whether these talks were anything more than exploratory or casual in nature. The lack of concrete action following these discussions further diminishes the likelihood of any serious collaboration. This raises questions about the real impact and seriousness of the conversations between Dame Andrea, Farage, and Tice.