Laura Trott says Reform UK is 'all over the place' and Tories would oppose EU rejoin

Conservative politician Laura Trott has criticised Reform UK as 'all over the place' and uncosted, while setting out her party's opposition to any move to rejoin the European Union.

In a broadcast interview, Trott said Reform UK did not have a plan to help anyone and that its policies did not make sense. She said the Conservatives were 'up for a fight' and would set out a plan to show they were a changed party ready for government. The interviewer pressed her on whether the Tories were focusing on Middle England because they had lost the Red Wall, but Trott rejected the suggestion that Reform had a serious policy offer.

On welfare, Trott defended the government's 'tough love' approach to getting young people into work. She said the principle was that if you can work, you should work, and that mild mental health conditions should not require personal independence payment (PIP). She said it was ridiculous that 100,000 people with ADHD were on PIP, though she accepted that complex conditions might need a complex response. She also contrasted Conservative plans with Labour, saying Labour wanted to hand out more money for people on welfare.

Trott also defended plans for 50,000 additional prison places, funded by cutting foreign aid to 0.1% of gross national income. She said prison works and that the Conservatives were the only party saying so. She said 700 prisoners had been released early, including violent criminals and domestic abusers, and that they needed to be back in prison. Asked about the record of the last 14 years, when 14,142 prison places were created but 13,660 were lost, she said it was not enough and blamed red tape and planning issues for stymying previous plans. She said releasing prisoners early now involved tiny numbers compared with what was being proposed.

On Brexit, the interview turned to comments by Andy Burnham suggesting Labour could consider rejoining the EU in a future manifesto. Trott said it would be undemocratic to re-litigate the 2016 vote and that the Conservatives would oppose any such move. Asked if the party would campaign for Leave in a second referendum, she said: 'Look, I think so, yes.' She added that she had not asked Kemi Badenoch directly but that it would be her assumption.

The exchange highlighted the continued pressure on the Conservatives from Reform UK, and the party's attempt to draw dividing lines on welfare, prisons and Europe. It also showed the Conservative position on a second Brexit referendum remains that the 2016 result should stand.