Kemi Badenoch has made a last-ditch attempt to win back voters from Reform UK and claimed the Conservative Party can still win the General Election.
The Business Secretary said prospective Reform UK voters are “good people” who “don't know who they're voting for” as she addressed former Tory voters less than a week before polling day.
Ms Badenoch, who is running for re-election in the redrawn seat of North West Essex, told The Times she still believes the Tories can win the election, but it would be “a hell of a fight”.
She said: “What I am asking those people who are Reform voters, or considering voting Reform, is that you are good people. I know that you feel some disappointment with our party, but don't let these people who claim to be like you get in.
“They are not like you at all. They are a totally different thing.”
Ms Badenoch continued: “I really want Reform voters to know that we've heard you. We understand. But you need to come back to the Conservative Party.”
She also warned Reform candidates were “not fit” to make important political decisions and told Tories they should not allow its leader Nigel Farage to join their ranks.
It comes as the latest YouGov poll put Mr Farage's party only one percentage point behind the Conservatives, who polled at 18 percent to Labour's 36 percent.
Ms Badenoch suggested Mr Farage didn't care about allegations of misogyny and racism in his party as it was “all a big show for him”.
Footage from a Channel 4 undercover investigation, released on Thursday (June 27), showed Reform campaigner Andrew Parker using a racist term about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and suggesting migrants should be used as “target practice”.
During an appearance on Question Time last night, Mr Farage repeated claims Mr Parker is an actor and described the exposé as “a political set-up of astonishing proportions”.
Mr Farage added he was “not going to apologise” as what had happened was a “set-up” and “a deliberate attempt to smear” his party.
Ms Badenoch claimed many Reform supporters “don't know who they're voting for”.
The senior Conservative – who ran for party leadership in 2022 – hinted earlier this week at a tilt at the top job.
She said there would be talk about the Tory leadership after the election and refused to rule out her own bid.
Mr Farage has also been tipped as a potential Tory leader, in a reverse take-over of the party by Reform UK.