Nearly two thirds of Tory members want pact with Reform, poll suggests, with close to half supporting full merger – as it happened

Half of Tory members also want Kemi Badenoch to be replaced as Conservative leader. This live blog is closed

Andrew Rosindell is not alone in wanting a pact with Reform UK. (See 4.59am.) According to new polling by YouGov, almost two thirds of members want a pact, and almost half of them would support a full merger.

The same poll found that half of members want Kemi Badenoch to be replaced as Tory leader before the next election, while 46% want her to stay on.

Overseas nationals denied benefits under a Conservative plan to limit social security to UK citizens would have the option to return to their own countries, the shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, has said. Stride was speaking as he unveiled details of plans to cut public spending by £47bn (see 7.59am, 8.09am and 12.36pm.) Most of the money would be used for deficit reduction, but Stride also announced plans for a £4bn tax cut for business, a £2.8bn tax cut for young people and plans to cut household energy bills by £165 on average every year. (See 11.27am.)

A Reform UK-run council where the party sought to pilot drastic cost-cutting plans is going to have to raise council tax, a cabinet member has admitted.