While outlining his plan for turning around the Conservative Party's electoral prospects, Boris Johnson issued a warning to the party not to combine with Reform UK.

The party lost badly in the general election, falling to just 121 Members of Parliament and losing a huge number of votes to Nigel Farage's party nationwide.

However, in an effort to start over, the former prime minister pleaded with the "Tory survivors" who now make up the Opposition not to "absorb other parties."

Mr. Johnson stated in the Daily Mail following the general election, "I say to my fellow Conservatives, we are the oldest, most successful political party in British history," in his first statement.

“We are capable of endless regeneration. We don’t need to try to absorb other parties, to try to acquire their vitality like a transfusion of monkey glands.”

He added: “We need to occupy the space ourselves – and my humble suggestion to the 121 is that they need to rebuild that giant coalition of 2019, get back to some of the big themes that proved so successful that we won seats across the country.”

‘Pied Piper of Clacton’

The former Tory leader said that Mr Farage, whom he called “the cheroot-puffing Pied Piper of Clacton” has played a “significant part – as he no doubt intended – in the destruction of the Tory government”.

The question of how the Tories should approach Reform, which has four MPs, is expected to dominate early debate in the upcoming Conservative leadership race.

MPs planning to campaign for the party leadership will be split on whether or not to welcome Mr Farage. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary has said he should be allowed to join the Conservatives, stressing the need to reunite the Right.

However, Kemi Badenoch, the former business secretary, Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, and Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, have all argued against doing so.

Priti Patel has not given a definitive response to the question but was filmed dancing to karaoke with Mr Farage at last year’s Tory conference.

Mr Farage, for his part, has repeatedly suggested that he would not wish to join the Conservatives, saying that the party is “dead”.