‘Punch the bullies!’ Tory MP rejects Rees-Mogg’s Reform merger call in scathing attack against ‘egotistical’ Farage

There were a further 152 seats where the Tories came second to Labour or the Liberal Democrats where Reform UK's vote share was greater than the margin of defeat.

Rees-Mogg lost his North East Somerset & Hanham constituency by 5,319 ballots, with Reform UK receiving 7,424 votes in the South West seat.

Speaking on the main stage at the ICC yesterday, Rees-Mogg said: “What should we do? Well, let’s for once model ourselves on David Cameron and make a big and generous offer…

“What if we were to say at the next election, as we did to the liberal unionists, we will not oppose Reform in those 98 seats? I would certainly be open to that as a real opportunity for Reform to win seats from Labour.”

However, Bacon urged Conservative colleagues to "resist" the idea of a merger with Reform UK after pointing out Farage had the opportunity to join the Tories in 2019.

He said: "I understand why people are saying it but you don't side up to the school playground bully straight after they've broken your nose. You need to punch them back in the mouth."

After stressing the comment was only meant figuratively, Bacon told attendees at the packed fringe event: "Whilst I do have a lot of time for Nigel Farage, the reason why we have 100 fewer MPs than we otherwise would have had even in defeat is because of the ego of Nigel Farage."

The 52-year-old retained his Orpington constituency on July 4, with his majority slashed from 22,378 to just 5,118.

Reform UK put up a strong showing in the South East London seat, hoovering up 8,896 votes.

Bacon, who was joined on the panel by ex-Brexit Party MEP Annunziata Rees-Mogg, former Dudley MP Marco Longhi and GB News presenter Nana Akua, also urged Conservatives to return to principles to shore up support with ex-voters.

The Tory Party suffered its worst election result since 1906 on July 4 after 24 per cent of its 2019 supporters sided with Reform UK.

The figure was much higher than the 12 per cent who instead opted to support Labour and the seven per cent who backed the Liberal Democrats.

Longhi's West Midlands seat was one of hundreds included on the Tory Party's mass election night casualty list.

Losing by just 1,900 votes, Longhi was seen off by 12,215 Labour voters to his left and 9,442 Reform UK supporters to his right.

Speaking at this morning's fringe event, the ex-Red Wall MP voiced scepticism about Farage's commitment to Brexit.

He said: "Nigel fought for all of his life to achieve Brexit, something that I think he should be recognised for.

"But for him to then effectively hand Brexit back to the socialist Labour Government we have now, somehow that is something I find unreconcilable."

Annunziata Rees-Mogg also weighed in on Farage's hunger for power, claiming: "There is nothing more to it than ego."

She added: "In 2024, they stood against brilliant people who didn't deserve to lose, who would have supported 99 per cent of their own agenda."

The former Brexit Party MEP also cited her decision to rejoin the Tories after Boris Johnson secured his withdrawal agreement as a key differentiating moment between her and Farage.

Speculation about a merger returned to the ICC yesterday morning after Tory grandee Sir John Redwood suggested Farage could look to put aside his differences with the next Conservative leader.

Speaking at a fringe event organised by the European Research Group, Redwood said: "An arrangement, a deal, could be made in the future."

However, all four of the remaining leadership hopefuls - Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly - have ruled out working closely with the populist party.

There is no love lost from Farage either, with the former Ukip leader taking a swipe at the "nobodies" running to replace Rishi Sunak.

When probed about which candidate threatened Reform the most, Farage told GB News: "I couldn't care less, couldn't care less. They're all nobodies, complete nobodies.

"Everyone's forgetting something here, it doesn't matter a damn who the next Tory leader is."

The 60-year-old Brexit supremo is also not keen to pursue a merger with the Tory Party.

"I want nothing to do with them," Farage said ahead of the General Election.

Farage is instead hellbent on completing a "reverse takeover" of the centre-right, with Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf pushing ahead with plans to provide the populist party with a grassroots "winning-machine".