Reform UK is securing major defections without actively seeking out disgruntled ex-Tories, senior figures from the populist party have told GB News.
Nigel Farage is instead attracting Conservative bigwigs due to his pre-existing relationships with veteran Brexiteers.
Former Dudley MP Marco Longhi became the latest ex-Tory to jump ship, joining Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Aidan Burley in the populist party’s ranks.
Speaking to GB News after his defection on Friday, Longhi said: “This was a decision, I believe, that was inevitable for me. We have to put people first and we have to put our country first.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage
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“I’ve always been incredibly loyal to the leaders we’ve had as a one-term Member of Parliament in Dudley and if I am to be true, and always be true, to the people of Dudley, I have to make this decision right now because they come first, rather than loyalty to a framework, to a leadership.”
Suella Braverman’s husband Rael, influential conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie and former Tory donor Nick Candy have also helped bolster Reform UK’s contingent of ex-Conservatives.
Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf revealed that the series of defections came without any outreach from the populist party.
Speaking to the People’s Channel, Yusuf said: “We have seen huge growth in those seeking to defect to Reform, despite no outreach efforts. This is because they can see Reform is finally breaking the two old parties’ stranglehold on British politics and are willing to stand up for British people.”
A Reform UK source added: “They’re coming to us. We’re not going to take everyone but they’re just as fed up as the country is.”
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Zia Yusuf, Chairman of Reform UK during the Reform UK East of England conference at Chelmsford City Racecourse
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GB News also understands that Reform UK is not accepting all of those who have expressed an interest in crossing over.
“We aren’t going to take everyone who wants to join,” an insider said. “Some just aren’t for us.”
A source closely connected to Reform UK also told GB News: “Other former Tory MPs were milling around, so they’re clearly discerning about who they are bringing in. Most of these people have pre-existing relationships with Nigel, anyway.
“There’s no conscious effort to secure defections but I do think they will take what they can get at a grassroots level.”
The insider added: “It’s a confidence thing, they don’t need to worry about defections, they’re just waiting for people to come to them, especially with people who Nigel fought alongside for Brexit.”
Marco Longhi joined Reform UK on Friday
PA
It has been claimed that Reform UK had turned down around 30 per cent of Conservative defectors at a council level.
But most of Reform UK’s 50 Councillors have come as the result of Tory defections, with just seven being picked up in by-elections and the remainder crossing over having previously served as independents.
However, many Reform-sympathising ex-Tory MPs remain cautious about defecting to the populist party.
Speaking to GB News in Leicester on Friday, Longhi explained how difficult the decision was to cross the floor.
He said: “Politics can be quite tribal and making that jump is a very tough decision. My friends, my family, people who know me in politics, will know that this has been a very carefully thought through, but also, a very painful decision.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns joined Reform UK in November
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A source closely connected to Farage also told the People’s Channel: “There’s been a timidity from some about defecting but these people feel a personal and a political affinity to Farage and the Reform world.”
Ashfield MP Lee Anderson became the first Tory MP to defect to Reform UK, having crossed the floor in March 2024 after losing the Conservative whip for his scathing attack on Sadiq Khan’s “Islamist” connections.
However, the Tories ex-Deputy Chairman had previously claimed he was offered a six-figure financial incentive to join Reform UK.
Labour Party Chair Ellie Reeves called on the parliamentary standards commissioner to look into the circumstances of Anderson’s decision to join Reform UK.
Reform UK rejected the claim at the time and Anderson later detailed the proposal put forward ahead of his defection.
Aidan Burley joined Reform UK in December
REFORM UK
He said: “At one such meeting I was offered the chance to join another party for the following deal – I join within a few months and stand for this party at the next election.
“If I lost my seat I would be guaranteed a job with the party for five years on the same salary as an MP.
“To falsely claim that I used this as leverage to get the position of deputy chairman is an insult to me and my party.”
However, Longhi made similar claims as the Tory Party witnessed internal squabbling about the Channel crossing crisis.
Asked about his previous comments about a financial offer on Friday, the ex-Dudley MP said: “No money has ever changed hands and private conversations remain private.”
Longhi, similarly to Anderson, was also quizzed about his previous comments about Reform UK.
Speaking at the 2024 Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Longhi said: “But for him [Farage] to then effectively hand Brexit back to the socialist Labour Government we have now, that is something I find irreconcilable.”
He had previously made other comments dismissing Reform UK ahead of the 2024 General Election.
Responding to his previous comments, the ex-Red Wall MP said on Friday: “A vote for Reform, at the time, would it deliver a Labour majority? Not many people believed me but that is exactly what happened.
“But the leadership of Reform obviously believed, at the time, that that had to come to pass to break our system because our system was revolving around the uni-party, it was revolving around a Labour-Conservative duality that has a grip on politics.”
Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and Nick Candy
REFORM
Longhi’s defection comes just months after he missed out on returning as the Tory MP for Dudley by just 1,900 votes, with Reform UK hoovering up 9,442 votes to finish in a close third place.
However, Farage was dealt a blow this morning after losing the support of X owner Elon Musk.
Musk, who bankrolled Donald Trump’s 2024 White House bid and hinted about giving money to Reform UK, said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
Responding to Musk less than three weeks after meeting the Tesla chief at Mar-a-Lago, Farage wrote: “Well, this is a surprise! Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree.
“My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”
Musk later appeared to throw his weight behind Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe becoming Reform UK’s next leader.
