'They're losing': George Osborne admits Tories 'won't win the election' against Reform without a 'broader coalition'
The former chancellor said the Tories were “losing” support to Reform
George Osborne has warned the Conservatives will not win the next election unless they build a “broader coalition” of voters beyond those tempted by Reform UK.
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Speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC, the former chancellor said the party was “losing” support to Reform while also facing a challenge from the Liberal Democrats in key Home Counties seats.
Asked whether his views on Europe, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and net zero would prevent him from becoming a Conservative candidate today, Mr Osborne said the party was at its best when it operated as a “pretty broad church” under strong leadership.
He said: “The Conservative Party does best when it’s a pretty broad church and then strongly led.”
Mr Osborne added he had a “pretty good relationship” with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and her team, as well as members of the Shadow Cabinet.
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But he warned that the party could not focus solely on taking votes back from Reform.
“They’ve got Reform on one [side]. They’re not going to win the election if their vote’s going to Reform and they’re losing,” he said.
“The Liberal Democrats have got lots of the Home Counties seats. So they’ve got to create a broader coalition.
“I understand that it’s going to mean trying to eat away at Reform’s vote, but you’ve also got to eat away at Labour and Liberal vote.”
Pointing to Labour-held seats including Chelsea and Kensington, Mr Osborne said the Conservatives would need to win back support in areas beyond their traditional electoral battlegrounds.
“You’re not going to win the election if you can’t change that,” he added.
The former MP’s comments came during an interview with Marr at the British Museum, where they were discussing the Bayeux Tapestry and its return to Britain.
Mr Osborne hailed the Bayeux Tapestry as “the single most famous object in British history”, saying it was “amazing” that it had not returned to the UK before.
The chairman of the British Museum said the 11th-century artwork was one of the country’s “foundational” stories.
“1066 is the nation’s PIN code,” he said.
“It’s the date we all know.”
He said the tapestry showed Britain’s deep historic ties with France, adding that tackling Channel crossings was “an obviously unsolvable problem unless you’re working with the French”.