Reform UK has been branded a 'retirement home for disgraced former Conservative ministers' - The Mirror takes a look at all the big names who have defected to Reform.
16:37, 12 Jan 2026Updated 17:36, 15 Jan 2026
Reform UK has been branded a "retirement home for disgraced former Conservative ministers" - after yet another former Tory MP joined the party.
Nadhim Zahawi, who once likened Nigel Farage to Hitler's chief propagandist, was in January unveiled as Reform's latest Conservative defector. He becomes the latest in a long line of Conservatives to jump ship to Reform, which is currently ahead in the polls.
Later that same week, Robert Jenrick - a serving MP - announced he was joining Reform UK after Kemi Badeoch sacked him hours before. The Tory leader kicked him out over "irrefutable" evidence he was planning to defect.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns - now one of Reform's mayors - also ditched the Tories, as did former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries. And the original defector Lee Anderson sits in the Commons as a Reform MP now. Manuela Perteghella, the Lib Dem MP for Stratford-on-Avon, Mr Zahawi's former seat, said: "Reform is becoming a retirement home for disgraced former Conservative ministers."
The Mirror takes a look at all the big names who have defected to Reform.
READ MORE: Ex-Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi sacked over tax spat defects to Nigel Farage's Reform
Robert Jenrick
On 15 January, 2026, Robert Jenrick defected to Reform UK. Taking to the Reform podium, former immigration minister Mr Jenrick - who previously boasted that he had secured additional asylum hotels - whined that illegal migration was out of control. He complained that Britain is "completely broken".
In a rambling speech, Mr Jenrick spoke bitterly about former Conservative governments - and the current Tory party. And he hit out at rising migration, the backlog in the courts, “overflowing” prisons and the small size of the army.
It comes after Kemi Badenoch sensationally sacked Mr Jenrick as shadow Justice Secretary hours before over "irrefutable" evidence he was planning to defect. The Tory leader also suspended the former shadow Justice Secretary's party membership - claiming he was plotting to inflict the maximum possible damage on his colleagues. She voiced her fury at the "political psychodrama".
Nadhim Zahawi
The latest high-profile Tory to jump ship to Reform is former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi. In an eventful 14 years in Parliament Mr Zahawi was in charge of the Treasury for two months before Boris Johnson was toppled. He was made Tory chairman by Rishi Sunak - only to get sacked when it emerged he had failed to declare he was being investigated over his tax affairs.
This was ruled to be a serious breach of the ministerial code, and led to his removal. At the time Mr Farage whined that he was not sacked fast enough, saying: "It has been obvious for a week that Zahawi would have to go. Sunak is a follower, not a leader." Mr Zahawi later confirmed he paid a penalty of nearly £5million to HMRC.
During his time in Parliament he was famously forced to admit claiming expenses to heat the stables at his Warwickshire estate.
Lee Anderson
The original defector was Lee Anderson - who crossed the floor to Reform UK before the General Election. The ex-Conservative deputy chairman - who lost the Tory whip after suggesting Sadiq Khan is controlled by “Islamists” - became the party's first MP in March 2024.
Mr Anderson, who served as a Labour councillor before becoming the Tory MP for Ashfield in 2019, has a long string of controversies to his name - including repeated attacks on those who run food banks, a foul-mouthed tirade against asylum seekers and boycotting England matches after players took the knee.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Boris Johnson's pal and former Tory MP, joined Reform in November 2024. The ex-Conservative minister, who was given a Damehood by Mr Johnson, was later elected Mayor of Lincolnshire for the party.
Dame Andrea, who lost her seat as an MP in the 2024 General Election, sparked anger during the election campaign when her campaign leaflets featured two pictures of her grinning alongside Mr Farage and zero images of her with Rishi Sunak. She has since become a senior member of Reform party. At the party's conference in September, she played a central role in ensuring the conference was weird after opening her speech by singing about "insomniacs" in a fully sequinned blue jumpsuit.
Nadine Dorries
Former Tory frontbencher Nadine Dorries defected to Reform in September 2025 - just as the party's annual conference was due to kick off. Ms Dorries, who had spent more than two years trying to convince the world that Boris Johnson was the victim of an underhand Conservative plot, whined that her old party is "dead".
The former Culture Secretary quit as an MP in 2023 and blamed "sinister forces" for her not being handed a peerage. Ms Dorries had been the architect of the Online Safety Act - which Nigel Farage has vowed to scrap if he gets into power.
Danny Kruger
While more than a dozen former Tories have defected to Reform, the majority are no longer MPs. So when Danny Kruger - the current MP for East Wiltshire - defected to the party, it actually boosted Reform's numbers in Parliament.
Mr Kruger, the son of Bake Off judge Prue Leith, became the first sitting MP to defect to Reform after the election when he made the leap in September 2025. "The Conservatives are over," he told a press conference.
Mr Kruger, a hardliner who helped head the hard-right New Conservatives group, will head a new unit aimed at preparing Reform for government.
Laura Anne Jones
A senior Tory who used a racist slur in a WhatsApp chat was unveiled as Nigel Farage's first Senedd member in Wales. Ms Jones has also previously apologised for saying she would "like to do a spot of Chav shooting" on Facebook - and said it is "a shame that isn't legal". She also joked about shooting former Labour leader Ed Miliband.
In August 2023 it emerged she had used a "highly offensive" slur about Chinese people in a group chat. She issued an apology after screenshots of the conversation were leaked online. It prompted calls for Ms Jones - who was a party member for 31 years - to be kicked out of the Conservative Party. Ms Jones said: “I sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused. The word referred to in the article is unacceptable and I deeply regret using it.”
Jonathan Gullis
Former Tory deputy chairman Jonathan Gullis's brutal attacks on the Reform leadership did not stop him jumping ship to Reform.
Right-winger Mr Gullis fell foul of No2 Richard Tice when he mocked the party in 2024 and said it was not just putting forward a "few rotten eggs". In response Mr Tice snapped back: "With a special Easter message to Tory MP Jonathan Gullis: Given the multiple bits of embarrassing personal information we have on you, I suggest you pipe down on your attacks against me."
He also came under fire in 2023 when he heckled "well they shouldn't have come here illegally" during a question about missing asylum seeker children.
Sir David Jones
Former Conservative cabinet minister and MP Sir David Jones joined Reform in July 2025 after becoming "disillusioned" by the Tory party.
"I joined the Conservatives all those years ago because I believed it was the party that best reflected my values and beliefs. Regrettably, that is no longer the case," he said at the time. "Reform UK is the party that best represents my views - and, I believe, those of many others who have become disillusioned with the two old major parties."
Sir Jake Berry
In July 2025, former Tory MP and party chairman Sir Jake Berry ditched the Tories and defected to Reform. He said: "Old Westminster politics has failed. But there's a better way."
He was the second former Conservative Cabinet minister to defect in just a week - with his announcement coming just days after Sir David Jones's. Sir Jake, who was MP for Rossendale and Darwen from 2010 until 2024, was a close ally of Boris Johnson, before going on to serve as Liz Truss's chairman.
Ross Thomson
Ross Thomson, a Tory MP from 2017-2019 in Scotland, jumped ship to Reform in June 2025. “I did so because only Reform have the courage and answers to the issues facing Scotland and the United Kingdom and Reform are best placed to beat the SNP and sort a Holyrood system that’s in desperate need of Reform,” the former Aberdeen South MP said.
Anne Marie Morris
Former Tory MP Anne Marie Morris who was suspended for using the N-word, defected to Nigel Farage's party in summer 2025. She apologised for using the racial slur and later had the whip returned.
The ex Tory, who was the MP for Newton Abbot from 2010 to 2024, joined Reform to lead its social care policy. At the time, she said: “The country is in a desperate position. I believe now it is Reform UK that offers the vision and leadership Britain so badly needs. I want to play my part in delivering that vision.”
Lucy Allan
Lucy Allan, the former Tory MP for Telford, caused a stir during the 2024 election campaign after she backed a Reform candidate to take her place instead of a Tory one. The Conservative Party suspended her over the row, while Ms Allan insisted she'd already quit the party to support the Reform candidate.
Marco Longhi
In January 2025, Marco Longhi, the Tory MP for Dudley North between 2019 and 2024, said he was joining Reform. During a press conference, he told Reform supporters: "I am a patriot and I finally feel at home." He lost his seat to Labour at the 2024 election.
Mr Longhi came under fire during the 2024 election campaign over a “divisive” letter highlighting his rival’s surname. He was also criticised earlier that year after ordering his constituency staff to refuse asylum seeker cases.
Graham Simpson
Graham Simpson, a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), became Reform's first MSP when he defected to the party in August 2025. Mr Simpson, a former Tory frontbencher, was first elected to Holyrood in 2016. He said it had been a "wrench" to leave the party he joined at the age of 15.
Sarah Atherton
Sarah Atherton, who lost her Wrexham seat in Wales at last July's general election, joined Reform in August 2025. She said she wants to stay in the May 2026 Senedd election, with Nigel Farage hoping to make major gains at the Welsh Parliament elections.
Adam Holloway
Adam Holloway, the MP for Gravesham for nearly 20 years, joined Reform UK in July 2025 after losing his seat at the general election the year before. Mr Holloway, who served as a government whip in Liz Truss's government, said he defected because he thought it the "best chance to recover the country from Labour".
Maria Caulfield
Maria Caulfield, a former Tory health minister, quit the Tories and joined Reform in September 2025. Ms Caulfield, who lost her Lewes seat to the Lib Dems at the 2024 election, said the Conservatives had become "less and less what I believe in".
Lia Nici
Former Tory whip Lia Nici turned her back on the party to join Reform in 2025. Ms Nici, who lost her seat in 2024, stuck by Boris Johnson over Partygate and said whistleblowers "should be ashamed". She has been appointed an advisor to Luke Campbell, Reform UK's mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire.
Chris Green
Chris Green, the former Bolton West MP, defected to Reform, alongside Mr Gullis and Ms Nici, in December. The three of them said the Conservative party was "dead".