Nigel Farage’s party’s numbers have been boosted again today, following the defection of a sitting MP earlier this week.
A Labour councillor has defected – the third in 72 hours (Image: Getty / Mason Humberstone X)
Reform UK has gained yet another defection today, and this time it’s a blow for Keir Starmer instead of Kemi Badenoch. This morning a councillor in Stevenage become the first direct Labour-to-Reform defection in England.
Councillor Mason Humberstone said he’d been battling with the decision “for some time”, but “deep down, I know it’s the right call”. He warned that hardworking people in Stevenage are leaving Labour, because “Labour has left us”. Mr Humberstone, who was elected in 2023, continued: “The party I joined is lost, without vision, mired in scandal, and too often speaking for a metropolitan elite rather than the people they’re meant to serve
The news is yet another blow for Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
“When policies harm the British people and weaken our democracy, I cannot in good conscience support them.
“As Stevenage’s youngest councillor, I entered politics to serve with integrity and respect. Today, I know I join a party that will put the British people and our great nation first.
“I feel proud to be part of this team and ready to get to work.”
The boost for Mr Farage’s party comes after he gained two top Tories earlier this week, including his first ever sitting MP defector.
Danny Kruger quit the Tories on Monday to become head of Reform’s preparations for government, warning that his former party is now dead.
It’s Reform’s third defection of the week (Image: Getty)
Mr Kruger was previously chief speechwriter to David Cameron, writing the then-opposition leader’s “hug a hoodie” speech in 2006.
Later, he was Boris Johnson’s political secretary during the final stages of Westminster’s Brexit battles in 2019.
Yesterday former health minister Maria Caulfield added her name to the list of those who have abandoned the Tories, warning “the future is Reform”.
She said: “I have joined. My husband joined a few months ago and I joined a month ago.
“The [Reform] party needs a lot of experience of people who know the system and can talk about this.”
She added: “I am sad for the Conservative Party. I could see that I have not changed but the party has become less and less what I believe in.
“We let people down over what Brexit meant on laws, money and borders. We took back control but we did not do anything about it.
“Reform is about changing the system – they won’t change unless they do it differently.”
