Could Conservatives and Reform UK form coalition to run Lincolnshire County Council? Tory leader Kemi Badenoch refuses to rule out power deal

Kemi Badenoch has said disillusionment in the two main parties has led to Reform topping opinion polls for this week’s mayoral election.

Andrea Jenkyns had a 15-point lead in a YouGov poll released last week, despite Lincolnshire historically being a safe Conservative area.

The Tory leader admitted it would take time for Conservatives to recover from their General Election defeat as she visited a county farm on Monday.

Asked why the party were polling at a distance second in the mayoral race, she said: “Conservatives have only just left government last year after people voted to remove them.

“We expected Labour would be riding high with a big majority, but people have quickly become disillusioned with high taxes and low growth.

“People have turned to protest votes – Greens, Liberal Democrats and Reform.

“When a party’s lost an election, it takes time to turn it around. What’s astonishing is how badly Labour are doing.”

The party leader, who replaced Rishi Sunak in November, didn’t rule out a coalition with Reform to run Lincolnshire County Council after the local elections - despite local figureheads scoffing at the idea.

“I’m not making a deal with Nigel Farage – he says he wants to destroy Conservatives,” she added.

“But on a local level, this is normal where elections produce no overall control.

“Right now, Conservatives are fighting for every single vote. We want majority control. People lose faith when there’s talk of coalitions or stitch-ups.”

However, local Conservative and Reform party leaders have played down any talk of working together.

The full list of candidates for Greater Lincolnshire Mayor (in alphabetical order) are: Sally Horscroft (Green), Andrea Jenkyns (Reform), Marianne Overton (Independent), Jason Stockwood (Labour), Rob Waltham (Conservative), Trevor Young (Liberal Democrat).

A recent poll said 40 per cent of voters who had made up their minds were supporting Reform, while 25 per cent backed Conservatives.

Labour had 15 per cent of the vote, with Greens, Liberal Democrats and Independents all polling under 10 per cent.

Conservatives currently hold 53 of the 70 seats on Lincolnshire County Council, although leaders have said they expect this to be the most competitive election for years.

Both elections will be held on Thursday, May 1.