For many months, though, the Reform leadership has been working hard behind the scenes to land a bigger prize: not another washed-up Westminster no-mark, but a current, sitting Conservative MP. This week, they got their man. On Monday, East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger announced his defection to Nigel Farage’s party, claiming the Conservative Party “is over”. Few think he will be the last Tory to cross the aisle.
square NEWS All the Tory defections to Reform - and who could be next
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Attracting defectors from the Tories gives credence to the idea that Reform is in the ascendancy and the traditional parties in decline. What’s more, it helps vindicate Farage’s insistence that he is building a rapidly growing movement capable of winning real power, not just leading a fringe party of protest.
Most significantly, welcoming so many former Tories with open arms undermines Farage’s claim that Reform is offering something radically different to the status quo. It is much harder for him to seek election, promising a complete departure from the failed policies of Labour and the Conservatives, if he is surrounded by people who spent many years in those very parties.
Similarly, Farage’s claim that the Conservatives ruined the country carries less weight if he surrounds himself with the very people who were part of the problem. Just look at the track records of some of the recent Reform defectors: Jake Berry was a prominent supporter of Liz Truss and the Conservative Party chairman during her disastrous 49 days in office. Nadine Dorries was the most fervent supporter of Boris Johnson, serving in his cabinet and defending him throughout the Partygate scandal, even as the evidence of wrongdoing mounted.
square POLITICS Big ReadReform defector says senior Tories want to join him - in blow for Badenoch
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Then there are the more unpopular views that come with the likes of Kruger. Right now, Reform strategists are making a concerted effort to try to broaden the party’s appeal. They want to smooth some of its rougher ideological edges in a bid to attract more support from moderate voters and those who typically vote Labour. To that end, Farage has made a point of talking more about issues like child poverty and reinstating benefits for pensioners. Some of that work will be undermined by the association between Farage and people like Kruger, who has made comments on issues like gay marriage and abortion that many moderate voters would find repellent. Welcoming right-wing Conservative hardliners undermines the new, more moderate Reform brand that Farage is trying to build.
For now, it makes sense for Farage to try to lure more people from other parties to join him: Reform’s poll-topping position is precarious and fragile enough that he could do with the added credibility needed to cement it. But for how long? At some point, Farage will need to start saying no to disillusioned Tory backbenchers desperate for their moment in the spotlight. If the Reform surge continues, then – soon enough – he won’t need them, anyway.
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