Overview
- Robert Jenrick was sacked for plotting to defect and joined Reform UK within hours, with Andrew Rosindell following and taking Nigel Farage’s Commons group to about seven MPs.
- In a letter and at the 1922 Committee, Kemi Badenoch told wavering Conservatives to leave now if they intend to go and insisted the Conservatives are the party of the Right.
- A More In Common poll reported Badenoch’s net approval at −11, overtaking Farage on −13, with most voters viewing recent Tory defections as self‑interested and seven in ten Conservative voters saying they would not follow an MP who switched to Reform.
- Reform UK has set a 7 May deadline for accepting Tory defectors, according to a party source quoted by GB News, signalling a recruitment timetable before upcoming votes.
- Calls for defectors to seek fresh mandates have grown, with a Times column highlighting Farage’s past support for by‑elections and polling that shows voters expect MPs who change parties to face one.