Suella Braverman’s defection makes her the fourth sitting Tory to join Reform – but when does Farage accept his party is becoming Tory 2.0 with bruised egos?
Braverman joins three other Tory defectors (Image: Getty)
The defection of Suella Braveman to Reform makes her the fourth sitting Tory to cross the floor. She joins Danny Kruger, Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell wedged in on Nigel Farage’s increasingly packed green bench. Eight Reform MPs now nest in the commons; half of them being former tories. So when does Reform accept it’s becoming Tory 2.0?
Of course the irony is layered on thick. Mrs Braverman, in her stint as Home Secretary, presided over immigration figures that would make most people blush. Now she joins a party whose central pitch to the country rests on controlling our borders. And she’s not alone in taking a different approach to her new boss. Jenrick, as revealed by this paper, wants to preserve the triple lock on pensions – despite his new drill sergeant, one Farage, being considerably less enthusiastic. You have to wonder how long before these contradictions start to ferment.
More fundamentally, how does one keep this collection of bruised egos in the same tent? These are not team players, their defections prove that if nothing else. They are solo artists who have spent the past few years building personal brands. Put them together and you get not an orchestra but a cacophony – rats in a sack, fighting over whose turn it is to denounce the latest outrage.
At some point, Farage will no doubt run out of sweeties with which to tempt errant Tories. Who gets the nod to be the next Home Secretary? Who gets handed the keys to the Treasury? Soon – the music will stop, and they’ll be out of chairs.
Kemi Badenoch almost gleefully observed that Farage was doing her spring cleaning for her. She may well be right. The Conservative Party has needed to shed its malcontents and its perpetual rebels who mistake posturing for principle. If Reform becomes a dumping ground for those too difficult to manage or too self-regarding to build anything lasting, then tears shall not be Mrs Badenochs to shed.
The country is crying out for a credible alternative to Labour’s managerial socialism. It may not get that with a vanity project masquerading as an insurgency. While Reform may be out to corner the market of disaffected voters, it may struggle to endure if it puts personality over philosophy. The British Right needs to offer something authentic and true. So far, by taking on too many Tories, Farage’s circus looks set to offer neither.
