Nigel Farage has told potential defectors they have until May 7 to join Reform UK.
Three Tories have been identified as the most likely to defect to Reform UK in what would be another blow to Kemi Badenoch. Westminster watchers have been re-assessing who will be next to jump ship after Robert Jenrick joined Nigel Farage’s outfit on Thursday (January 15).
Mr Jenrick had been a leading contender to switch sides after he lost the Conservative leadership election to Mrs Badenoch. Now that he has finally done so, the bets are on as to who is next. They have until the local elections on May 7 when Mr Farage said Reform’s doors will close to defectors.
Three Tories have emerged as the most likely to defect to Reform in what would be a blow to Badenoch (Image: Getty)
Suella Braverman, Esther McVey and Andrew Rosindell are tipped to defect next (Image: Getty)
Star Sports Betting has issued its latest odds on who the bookies believe will defect next. William Keli Kedjanyi, Head of Political Content at Star Sports Betting, said: “With Robert Jenrick out of the picture we’ve had to reform this market and it’s a pretty interesting one.
“Our top three are Andrew Rosindell, who’s been on the Tory right for years and we think has political instincts that overlap heavily with Reform.
“Then we’ve got Suella Braverman at 4/1, again probably the most obvious if you’re thinking about somebody who is significant to be wanted by Reform and also somebody who has had their positions when it comes to migration, culture and crime for quite a long time.
“And then Esther McVey. Now I think she’s a bit more loyal to the Tory brand than some of the would-by defectors, which is reflected in the fact that she’s 30/2, but she has been on the right of the party for years, she is principled, she’s outspoken, and she’s comfortable occupying that same territory.”
Mr Kedjanyi said the few “priced up” to defect to Reform are those mostly on the right of the Conservative Party who have been a bit more outspoken, punchier and who sing from the same hymn sheet as past defectors.
One Tory big beast who Mr Farage has suggested he doesn’t want in Reform is former prime minister Boris Johnson.
Several of Mr Johnson’s former Cabinet colleagues have been welcomed by Mr Farage, including Nadine Dorries and Nadhim Zahawi.
Asked on Thursday if Mr Johnson would be welcome, Mr Farage told reporters: “I don’t think after the ‘Boriswave’ that’s very likely, do you?”
The “Boriswave” is a nickname coined for the large number of people from outside of the EU who migrated to Britain after Brexit was officially enacted in 2020.
Mr Jenrick was forced to announce his defection after Mrs Badenoch sacked him, citing “irrefutable evidence he was plotting” to jump ship in a “damaging” way.
Appearing next to Mr Farage at a Westminster press conference, Mr Jenrick said of the Tories: “I can’t kid myself any more. The party hasn’t changed and it won’t.
“The bulk of the party don’t get it. Don’t have the stomach for the radical change this country needs.”
Mr Jenrick also said both Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain and both are now dominated by those without the competence or the backbone needed to fix it.
He added: “Both parties, if judged by their own actions, are committed to a set of ideas that have failed and are failing Britain. Labour started mass migration, but the Conservatives ramped it up after 2019.”
Reform’s newest MP said he was “resolved to leave” the Conservative Party even before Mrs Badenoch sacked him.
Mr Farage suggested Mr Jenrick’s defection would bring a lot more people and voters to Reform, adding: “I think this is actually a very big moment.”
