A growing list of former Conservative MPs have defected to Reform UK since March 2024, marking one of the most significant political realignments on the British right in recent history. What began with a single, controversial defection ahead of the general election has developed into a steady stream involving former cabinet ministers, party chairs, whips and long-serving backbenchers, many of whom now argue that the Conservative Party no longer represents either their values or their voters.
The defections have unfolded against a backdrop of sustained Conservative instability following the party’s heavy defeat at the 2024 general election. Leadership uncertainty, internal ideological divisions and persistent polling weakness have combined to create a sense of drift, while Reform UK has positioned itself as a coherent alternative rather than a protest vehicle. The party has topped voting intention polls for much of the past year, emboldening senior figures who once dismissed it as electorally marginal.
Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage, has framed the defections as evidence that the centre-right has already realigned, arguing that Reform has inherited the political ground once occupied by the Conservatives. While critics argue that most defectors are no longer sitting MPs, supporters counter that the breadth of experience now flowing into Reform signals a party preparing seriously for power.
🧭 A break that began before the election
The first defection that fundamentally altered perceptions came in March 2024, when Lee Anderson left the Conservatives after the party suspended the whip over remarks about London’s mayor. Anderson joined Reform and went on to win his Ashfield seat at the general election, becoming the party’s first MP and transforming Reform’s status overnight from an external pressure group into a parliamentary force.
Following the election, further departures gathered pace as defeated MPs reassessed their political futures. Several framed their decisions as a response to what they described as a collapse in trust between the Conservative Party and the electorate. Former ministers and party officials publicly accused the Conservatives of abandoning core principles on Brexit, taxation, immigration and national sovereignty.
🏛️ From protest to parliamentary legitimacy
The political significance of the trend deepened in September 2025, when Danny Kruger became the first sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform. At the time a shadow cabinet member, Kruger said the Conservative Party “is over” and described Reform as the political right’s “last hope”. His decision shattered a long-standing Westminster convention and made subsequent defections less extraordinary.
In the months that followed, multiple former MPs defected in quick succession. Some took up policy or advisory roles within Reform, signalling that the party was not merely absorbing discontent but actively building institutional capacity. Defectors repeatedly cited frustration with Conservative leadership and a belief that Reform now articulated positions the Conservatives once championed.
📈 Senior names and symbolic weight
The most high-profile move came in January 2026, when former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi joined Reform. Zahawi, who also served as vaccines minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, described the Conservatives as a “defunct brand” and said the country “really does need Nigel Farage as prime minister”. Although his tenure as chancellor was brief, his cabinet-level experience gave the defection considerable symbolic weight.
Other senior figures have used similarly stark language. Nadine Dorries said the Conservative Party was “dead”. Sir Jake Berry argued it had “lost its way”. David Jones, a former Welsh secretary, said Reform best represented his views after decades within the Conservative fold. Together, these statements have reinforced the narrative that the party’s decline is not temporary but structural.
📊 What the defections mean
Political analysts note that while most defectors are former rather than sitting MPs, the cumulative impact is significant. Each departure weakens the Conservatives’ claim to represent a broad coalition on the right, while simultaneously legitimising Reform as a serious political actor. The flow of experienced figures has also lowered the reputational barrier for further defections, creating a self-reinforcing cycle.
For Reform, the challenge is converting momentum into durable electoral success. The party must balance the advantages of experience against the baggage some defectors carry. For the Conservatives, the question is whether the exodus can be halted or whether Reform has permanently fractured the right in a way that reshapes British politics for a generation.
What is clear is that the number and seniority of former Conservative MPs now aligned with Reform UK represents a realignment unprecedented in the modern era.
6 responses to “Former Conservative MPs defect to Reform UK in steady flow”
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Extra large shoes, red nose and a car where the doors fall off springs to mind. Bloke down t’pub told me Farage even managed to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
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It is obvious from his love of Putin and inability to do his job ( visited Putin 18 times in 1 year) and is on holiday when he should be working . Right wing Tories are moving to his party where the apparently think no one will remember what atrocities they colluded in when in power for 14 years. I expect those voters think that Reform means an improvement. Reform can mean everything will actually get worse for the population and it will. He is chums with Trump. Vote for hFarage and what is happening in America will happen here. Putin wants to control the whole World. The Labour party have done things that no real Socialist would do but they have done some good things. The Greens are not likely to get a majority. If you are Scottish you need to know that the SNP has done quite a lot to help the ordinary man. More than Westminster has done for their constituances.England controls our most profitable resources ( and made a mess of them ). They also get ALL of our taxes of which we get a SMALL percentage back . They do not care when they destroy our businesses and remove them to England. The Scots are perfectly able to look after themselves and we will have lots more money to do that. Farage wants to reduce the amount of OUR money that we get back. If you care about a fair society DO NOT VOTE FOR REFORM.
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Roll on reforms first Tory rebellion Farrage is authoritarian and demands Loyalty it will be nuclear
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Farage wanted to lead the Tory party. He’s always been a Tory. He’s a Tory on steroids. Very disingenuous to reform subscribers though.
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