Is it time to make plans for Nigel? What, if anything, the Conservatives should do about the Reform UK is being debated following Jacob Rees-Mogg’s suggestion this week of a “big, open and comprehensive offer” to Nigel Farage’s outfit.

The former Cabinet minister has mooted a ministerial role for the rival party’s honorary president, plus opening the door to two of its most notable figures to stand as Tory candidates. His dream team would also bring Boris Johnson back to frontline politics as foreign secretary for good measure.

Rees-Mogg’s logic goes that it will pull together the right’s vote and present a united front to the electorate. It’s an idea he’s advocated for some time, notably in 2013 when fears were similarly rife about Farage splintering the right-wing vote.

Back then, he said Conservatives would prefer Farage over Nick Clegg as deputy prime minister. The pact never amounted to anything, as David Cameron’s strategy to neutralise Ukip with the EU referendum pledge in the 2015 election proved successful for him in that election. And here lies the reason why it would be a mistake for the Tories to pursue a Reform-Farage deal.

Why Rees-Mogg has floated this plan is obvious. With the Labour Party still averaging a 20-point lead, Conservative MPs are desperate for plots and plans to somehow close this gap. Polling grandee Peter Kellner has estimated that over 80 per cent of........

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