Reform UK faced a fresh wave of ridicule on Wednesday after welcoming former Conservative MP Ben Bradley into the party – the latest in a string of high-profile defections that has fuelled claims Reform is simply morphing into a hard-right extension of the Tory Party.
Bradley, who represented Mansfield from 2017 to 2024 and served as Nottinghamshire County Council leader, announced he had joined Nigel Farage’s party as its new Head of Local Government, saying trust in the Conservatives and Labour had “gone and not coming back”.
His move triggered an immediate backlash online, with critics branding Reform “a rebrand of the nutty Tory fringe” and questioning how the party can deny becoming “Tories 2.0” while hiring so many former Conservative MPs.
🔵 A senior Tory reborn as a Reform strategist
Bradley insisted his defection was driven by deep frustration over years of unmet promises from both major parties. He previously quit Theresa May’s Conservative Party leadership team over her Brexit approach and rebelled against Boris Johnson over vaccine passport legislation.
Now, he says Reform represents the only vehicle capable of “delivering real change”, and will work alongside deputy leader Richard Tice on the party’s controversial DOGE efficiency programme – a scheme critics say is heavy on branding and light on detail.
Yet Bradley’s elevation immediately undercut Reform’s repeated denials that it is becoming a refuge for disaffected Conservatives. He is now the 22nd former Tory MP to join or work with Reform, alongside figures such as Danny Kruger and Andrea Jenkyns.
🔥 Reform’s ‘Tories 2.0’ problem isn’t going away
Nigel Farage has spent weeks batting away reports that he privately told donors he expects some form of electoral pact with the Conservative Party. He has described such claims as “ludicrous” and insisted a deal “would cost us votes”.
But Bradley’s appointment – on top of recent defections, endorsements and staff crossovers – makes that denial harder to sustain.
On social media, users mocked the party’s attempt to present itself as anti-establishment while stacking its ranks with former Tory insiders. Commentators described Reform as “UKIP in a blue rosette” and “a retirement home for rejected MPs”, with several noting the irony of a party pitching itself as a fresh start while recruiting political veterans responsible for many of the issues they now oppose.
🗳️ A widening identity crisis for Farage’s party
Reform continues to surge in polls but remains torn between two contradictory ambitions: positioning itself as an insurgent, anti-elite force while absorbing familiar Conservative figures who helped shape the policies Reform now denounces.
Bradley’s arrival gives the party a seasoned operator with local government experience, but risks intensifying concerns that Reform is becoming just another faction of the Conservative right – rather than the clean break its supporters expect.
For now, the leadership insists the defection is a sign of momentum rather than confusion. Whether voters accept that argument will become clear as the general election approaches.
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