A coalition between the Conservatives and Reform would be a “disaster for Britain”, Sir Keir Starmer has said as he defended his record on immigration.
The prime minister said voters of the rival parties were “being conned” as he suggested there were attempts to merge the two parties going on “behind the scenes”.
The prime minister was asked by Sky News political editor Beth Rigby whether he was “more worried” about Reform rather than the Conservatives ahead of the local and mayoral elections taking place across England this week.
He said: “I would challenge either of them.
“The Tories have got a terrible record – 14 years of failure. Reform moan about everything, but have got no answers. And at the end of the day, Reform and the Tories, there’s all this talk about them getting together and merging.
“If you’re a Tory voter who doesn’t want a pro-Russia foreign policy, how does a merger with Reform work for you? If you’re a Reform voter that thinks the Tories have failed for 14 years, how does a merger or coalition with the Tories work for you?”
He added: “Both sets of voters are being conned, because behind the scenes and behind the leader of the opposition, other people are looking for a coalition of these two parties.
“It would be a disaster for Britain.”
Sir Keir was challenged about the threat of Reform as the number of migrants crossing the Chanel in small boats this year is set to pass 10,000.
The number is recorded from between January and April this year and is more than in any equivalent four-year period since monitoring began in 2018.
The Labour leader said there was a “serious problem” but accused the last government of losing control of the country’s borders.
He added: “My strong belief is that we need to take down the gangs that are running the trade of putting people into boats.
