Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson in the same political team would be like having a Brexiteer version of the Galacticos.
Real Madrid struck fear into their opponents with the likes of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) in their star-studded team as they sought to dominate football.
And that’s exactly what could happen if the two most significant British politicians of the past 20 years join forces.
Farage, the hugely popular leader of Reform UK, is apparently willing to work with the former prime minister – the only politician who resonates with the public as he does.
Together, they could become an unstoppable electoral force.
Based on current polling, a Reform-Tory “mega party” would thrash Sir Keir Starmer, who is shedding votes in an unprecedented post-election collapse in support.
Kemi Badenoch has publicly ruled out any negotiations with Reform, but some senior Tories have urged closer ties.
Another Brexity Galactico-type, former business secretary Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, has said a Tory-Reform pact would be “devastating for the socialists” and could pave the way for a “truly Conservative coalition”.
Another, former home secretary Suella Braverman, also wants to “unite the Right” – recently warning “there isn’t space in British politics for two conservative parties”.
According to some bookmakers, Mr Farage is favourite to be the next PM, followed by Mrs Badenoch, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Mr Johnson.
That alone says something about Mr Johnson’s popularity, considering he isn’t even an MP at the moment.
As part of their drive for power, Reform strategists are aiming to raise the party’s support to match Mr Farage’s personal approval rating of 32 per cent.
An Electoral Calculus poll published at the weekend had Reform on 24%, with Labour and the Tories level on 23%.
That would put the Conservatives on 178 seats, Reform on 175 and Labour on 174 – giving a unified mega party a total of 353 shared MPs.
The leak of support to Reform in Labour’s traditional working-class heartlands is so pronounced that in May’s local elections Reform are planning to warn that “a vote for the Tories is a vote for Labour”.
