Nadine Dorries has become the latest politician to defect to Reform UK, announcing that the Conservative Party “is dead.”
The 68-year-old former culture secretary confirmed on Thursday that she had shifted her affiliation to Nigel Farage’s right-wing party, while encouraging Conservative members to “look to the future.”
Her departure marks the latest in a string of high-profile defections from across the political spectrum to Reform UK, as the formerly fringe political party enjoys an increase in support.
Speaking with the Mail Online, Dorries said: “The Tory Party is dead. Its members now need to think the unthinkable and look to the future.”
She continued: “My decision to leave the party I’ve served for more than 30 years is possibly the most difficult I’ve ever had to make, and it has taken me 12 agonising months to reach.”
Taking to social media, she also stressed a lack of confidence in her former party’s election chances: "The Conservative Party cannot win the next election. It removes election-winning prime ministers and replaces them with duds.”
Since announcing the news, other UK politicians have weighed in, expressing little surprise about Dorries’ decision to join Reform.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski wrote on social media: “Nadine Dorries joining Reform isn’t a shock. It’s logical for a politics of cruelty, corruption, and the collapse of neoliberalism. The rise of Reform is the fault of a failing Labour Government & their vapid politics. We're growing the alternative.”
A Liberal Democrat source is quoted by the BBC as adding: "We don't know who to feel more sorry for, Kemi Badenoch or Nigel Farage."
Dorries' departure from the Conservative Party signals mounting discontent among the Tory ranks as the party tries to appeal to disenfranchised voters ahead of the next election.
Here is a list of other MPs and former MPs who have defected to Reform UK.
Reform UK defectors
Nadine Dorries
Nadine Dorries is one of the most high-profile MPs to have recently defected to Reform UK.
Dorries, who was a staunch advocate for Boris Johnson, said: “My decision to leave the party I’ve served for more than 30 years is possibly the most difficult I’ve ever had to make, and it has taken me 12 agonising months to reach.”
David Jones
David Jones was the MP for Clwyd West between 2005 and 2024, as well as Secretary of State for Wales and Brexit minister under Theresa May.
He confirmed this summer that he had also joined Reform UK after more than 50 years as a Tory, saying the party best aligns with his views.
“Today, 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,” he said.
“Across the country, people are rightly concerned about the rising cost of living, the escalating crisis of illegal immigration, and the steady erosion of our national sovereignty.”
Sir Jake Berry
In July 2025, former chairman and Rossendale and Darwen MP Sir Jake Berry announced that he was joining Reform.
The former MP said he had torn up his Tory membership card, and told The Sun: “Our streets are completely lawless. Migration is out of control. Taxes are going through the roof.”
Graham Simpson
Scottish politician and former Conservative, Graham Simpson, defected to Reform in August 2025, adding that the decision had been "an enormous wrench".
"I've joined Reform because we have the chance to create something new, exciting and lasting that puts the needs of people over the system, that asks what is going wrong and how we can fix it," he told reporters.
Adam Holloway
Adam Holloway, Tory MP for Gravesham in Kent between 2005 and 2024, confirmed in July 2025 that he was joining Reform UK.
At the time, Holloway seemingly criticised the Conservative leadership while throwing his support behind Nigel Farage.
He said: “There comes a moment for many soldiers – and most politicians – when you realise the battle you think you’re fighting isn’t the one your leaders are waging.”
“That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right.”
Anne Marie Morris
Anne Marie Morris defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK in July, with her new party confirming she would head up the formulation of social care policy.
Morris, who was also suspended from the Tory party in 2017, had been MP for Newton Abbot between 2010 and 2024.
Marco Longhi
In January 2025, Marco Longhi, the former Tory MP for Dudley North announced he was defecting to Reform UK.
"I am a patriot and I finally feel at home," he announced at the time.
Ross Thomson
Ross Thomson was the Tory MP for Aberdeen South from 2017 to 2019 before going on to defect to Reform in the summer of 2025.
He told The Express at the time: “I finally decided a few months ago to join, and to be honest, it’s been a weight off my mind. It was a personal decision, and I joined without fanfare or wanting attention.”
Andrea Jenkyns
In late 2024, Dame Andrea Jenkins announced that she had defected to Reform UK from the Tory party.
She had previously served as MP for Morley and Outwood from 2015 until 2024, when the constituency was abolished.
In May 2025, she became Reform UK’s first regional mayor following an election victory in the Greater Lincolnshire authority.
Aidan Burley
Aidan Burley was a Tory MP for Cannock Chase from 2010 to 2015 before leaving Parliament.
He was sacked as a ministerial aide after it emerged that Burley had purchased a Nazi SS uniform for a groom to wear to a stag party in 2011.
In December 2024, the former minister announced that he had joined Nigel Farage’s party.
Alan Amos
Alan Amos was a Conservative MP for Hexham from 1987 until he stood down in 1992.
He later served as a Labour councillor before changing allegiances again to the Tories.
In April 2025, 72-year-old Amos said he was joining Reform UK, saying: “The approach from Reform was unexpected but I have found that we have much in common on the need for Britain to change direction and make a decisive break from the old, tired and discredited parties.”
Lee Anderson
In March 2024, Lee Anderson became one of the Reform Party’s first members after defecting from the Conservative Party following his suspension.
Anderson, who was formerly the Tories’ deputy chairman, had been suspended from the party earlier that year for "refusing to apologise" after saying “Islamists” had “got control” over London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan.
The Ashfield MP said at the time: "All I want is my country back."
