Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Reform have mutated in the Truss/Johnson Tory Party Mark II
Readers of the Independent seem to agree. The paper says that they now see the party as little more than a refuge for self-serving ex-Tories. Commenters on the paper's site have argued that high-profile figures such as Robert Jenrick, Nadhim Zahawi, and Nadine Dorries switched allegiance to protect their political careers rather than to represent constituents:
Readers criticised Reform for taking in hard-right ex-Tories and recycling discredited politicians, saying it undermines the party’s anti-establishment image.
They also highlighted past Conservative failings in public services, social care, and immigration, arguing that with so many ex-Tory MPs, Reform offers little more than a continuation of the same policies.
A small minority suggested the defections might allow the Conservatives to rid themselves of unpopular MPs and regroup.
However, the dominant view was one of cynicism, that Reform is largely a vehicle for political survival, and its MPs cannot be trusted to act in the public interest.
The extent to which Farage's party is transforming into a mark 2 version of Truss's and Johnson's Tory Party is uncanny. With thanks to the twitter feed of Reform Watch UK Exposed, here is a list of leading defectors from the Tories so far:
Leader: Nigel Farage (former Conservative)
MP: Lee Anderson (former Conservative)
MP: Sarah Pochin (former Conservative)
MP: Danny Kruger (former Conservative)
MP: Robert Jenrick (former Conservative)
MP: Andrew Rosindell (former Conservative)
MS: Laura Ann Jones (former Conservative)
Deputy Leader: Richard Tice (former Conservative)
Chair: Dr David Bull (former Conservative)
Deputy Chair: Paul Nuttalls (former Conservative)
Leader in Scotland: Malcolm Offord (former Conservative Life Peer)
Mayoral Candidate: Laila Cunningham (former Conservative)
Mayor of Lincolnshire: Andrea Jenkyns (former Conservative MP)
Leader in London: Alex Wilson (former Conservative)
Leader of Kent Council: Linden Kemkaran (former Conservative)
Leader of Derbyshire Council: Alan Graves (former Conservative)
Leader of Worcestershire Council: Jo Monk (former Conservative)
Leader of Durham Council: Andrew Husband (former Conservative)
Leader of Leicestershire Council: Dan Harrison (former Conservative)
Leader of Lancashire Council: Stephen Atkinson (former Conservative)
Leader of North Northamptonshire: Martin Griffiths (former Conservative)
Lucy Allan, former Conservative MP
Alan Amos, former Conservative MP
Sarah Atherton, former Conservative MP
Jake Berry, former Conservative MP
Ben Bradley, former Conservative MP
Michael Brown, former Conservative MP
Aidan Burley, former Conservative MP
Chris Butler, former Conservative MP
Maria Caulfield, former Conservative MP
Simon Danczuk, former Labour MP
Nadine Dorries, former Conservative MP
Chris Green, former Conservative MP
Jonathan Gullis, former Conservative MP
Adam Holloway, former Conservative MP
David Jones, former Conservative MP
Marco Longhi, former Conservative MP
Anne Marie Morris, former Conservative MP
Lia Nici, former Conservative MP
Henry Smith, former Conservative MP
Mark Reckless, former Conservative MP
Ross Thomson, former Conservative MP and MSP
Ann Widdecombe, former Conservative MP
Nadhim Zahawi, former Conservative MP
And that's just the consequential ones. It is little wonder that Farage wants to put a deadline in place after which he says he won't accept any more Tories. Reform has become the Tory party that crashed the economy. Why would anybody expect them to do any different if they got into government again.
