It was all so different less than a year ago.
At the Conservative party conference in Manchester last year, Nigel Farage was in attendance, albeit in his capacity as a GB News presenter.
Nevertheless, he looked very much at home as he danced with Priti Patel at a late-night party, the pair of them bellowing out Frank Sinatra’s ‘I Love You, Baby’.
Ten months later, however, the mood has changed. Since then, Farage has made his political comeback as leader of Reform UK, and even managed to become an MP at the eighth attempt.
He heads up a five-strong Reform contingent on the opposition benches, alongside the 121 Tories who survived Labour’s landslide general election victory.
There is a school of thought in some right-wing Tory circles that the party needs to reach an accommodation with Farage – who has spoken of mounting a “takeover” of the Conservatives – in order to take on Keir Starmer.
But this week it became clear that whoever succeeds Rishi Sunak, that will not happen.
Even Farage’s former dance partner Patel, who is never confused for a Tory wet, has made it clear that the former Ukip boss is persona non grata.
An ally said in June: “Priti has dedicated over 20 years to the Conservative Party. No one with such a record would welcome someone to the party who has repeatedly stood against Conservatives.”
James Cleverly – described to HuffPost UK by a source in a rival camp as “underpriced” in the leadership stakes – also made it clear to the Daily T podcast that he saw no place in his party for Farage.
“The difference between Boris [Johnson], for example, and Nigel is Boris has never said that he holds an ambition to destroy the Conservative Party,” the former home secretary said.
“I think that is a very significant difference to my open offer to Conservatives who might want to come back into frontline Conservative politics and someone who’s basically said that he wants to destroy my party.”
Robert Jenrick, seen as Kemi Badenoch’s main challenger to be the standard bearer for the Tory right in the contest, has also ruled out allowing Farage into the party, despite previously saying he was “not opposed” to such a move.
Polling by Savanta and seen by HuffPost UK shows why, for now at least, the leadership hopefuls are right to distance themselves from the Reform UK leader.
Farage’s net favourability rating with the public is a derisory minus 19 – lower than every Tory candidate bar Patel, who languishes on minus 30.
Among Tory voters his rating is zero, while among Lib Dems – millions of whom the Conservatives need to win back in 2029 – it is minus 52.
Chris Hopkins, Savanta’s political research director, said: “Conservative leadership candidates must first endear themselves to the current Conservative voter base which, while considerably smaller in number now than they would’ve expected two years ago, isn’t all that enamoured with Nigel Farage, according to our research.
“Courting Farage, therefore, is counterintuitive for Conservative leadership candidates at the moment, and risks letting a fox into the henhouse for no obvious gain.
“But I also think there has also been a wider acceptance that winning back Reform UK voters is neither particularly easy, nor enough. Even if everyone who voted Reform in 2024 and Conservative in 2019 hadn’t switched, the Conservatives still would’ve got a pasting at the election.
“Any new leader needs to expand the Conservative coalition to include former Lib Dem and Labour voters, and younger voters as well. The best way to do that will be by appearing competent and not in it for themselves – no mean feat from the opposition benches.”
One Tory aide said: “Farage has made it his business to ‘destroy’ the Tory party at every opportunity. Why on earth would you want someone who hates you to join the party in the hope it would succeed?
“You wouldn’t let vegans run the BBQ and hog roast, would you?”
A source on one campaign team told HuffPost UK: “The way to beat Farage is to eat his lunch. We need to come up with a firm, realistic offer to the country on how we will bring down immigration.
“That will push him further to the extremes, which is where he makes mistakes.”
A Reform UK spokesman, however, was sanguine at the Tory opposition to their leader.
He said: “It’s like six lepers telling a healthy man that he cannot join their colony. Why on earth would he want to?”
