Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after Thursday's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections on Thursday.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage's party on a national level. "I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage...

read my lips," she said. Politics latest: UK has 'recognised all along' Russia is aggressor - minister However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, "you have to do what is right for your local area".

"You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents," she said. "We've been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

"They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they're going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people." She added: "What I don't want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities." In response, Nigel Farage said: "The Tories broke Britain nationally for 14 years, and their councils continue to break local communities with the highest taxes ever and worst services.

"Reform have no intention in forming coalitions with the Tories at any level." A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May - mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year's general election. It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

In addition, there is one Labour-controlled borough being contested. Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce. Despite not ruling out agreements between the Tories and Reform once the local elections have finished, Ms Badenoch has been at pains to stress she is against any kind of deal with Mr Farage at a national level.

On Friday she criticised talk of "stitch-ups" ahead of next week's local elections and said she was instead focused on ensuring that voters have a "credible Conservative offer". Speculation that the Tories and Reform could join forces heightened after two senior Tories appeared to advocate for some sort of agreement between the two rival parties.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, was captured in a video recording leaked to Sky News vowing to "bring this coalition together" to ensure that Conservatives and Reform UK are no longer competing for votes by the time of the next general election. According to the excusive audio Mr Jenrick - who lost the Tory leadership campaign to Ms Badenoch - said he would try "one way or another" to make sure the two right-wing parties do not end up handing a second term to Sir Keir Starmer.

Mr Jenrick has denied his words amounted to calling for a pact with Reform. Meanwhile, in an interview with Politico, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen also suggested the two parties should join forces in some way.

"I don't know what it looks like. I don't know whether it's a pact.

I don't know whether it's a merger… [or] a pact of trust and confidence or whatever," he said. "But if we want to make sure that there is a sensible centre-right party leading this country, then there is going to have to be a coming together of Reform and the Conservative Party in some way." Read more:Could the local elections reshape British politics?'Bring on the fight' over net zero, says Ed Miliband All of the other national parties have launched their campaigns for the local elections ahead of the poll next week.

Labour Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told Trevor Phillips that he was "not predicting huge Labour gains on Thursday". He also ruled out Labour striking deals with any other party.

"The deals on offer after Thursday won't be between Labour and the Tories and Labour and Reform," he said. "But what there's been a lot of debate about is what's going to happen between the Tories and Reform, because I'm not even sure if they're two different parties or one party at the moment.".