Nadine Dorries has defected to Reform UK, saying the Conservative party “is dead”. The former cabinet minister, a close ally of Boris Johnson when he was prime minister, served as culture secretary until 2022 before resigning as an MP a year later when she was blocked from receiving a peerage.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dorries said: “The Tory party is dead. Its members now need to think the unthinkable and look to the future.” She added that after months of secret talks conducted at a Mayfair club, the Conservatives had left her and her values were now more aligned with Reform.
Dorries is the third former cabinet minister to join Reform in recent months, after former party chair Jake Berry and ex-Welsh secretary David Jones. Other former Conservative MPs to defect include Andrea Jenkyns, now Reform mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, Marco Longhi and Adam Holloway. Lee Anderson, a former Tory vice-chair, defected in the last parliament and was elected as an MP.
Reform leader Nigel Farage said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Nadine Dorries to Reform UK. She is a hugely successful politician, author and columnist and will be a great boost to our campaign to win the next general election.” A Labour spokesperson said Dorries was one of the people “who helped to kill” the Tory party, noting her backing of Johnson during partygate and the irony of the online safety bill author joining a party that wants to scrap it without a replacement.
The defection comes on the eve of Reform’s conference in Birmingham, where Farage is due to speak on Friday. Reform has expanded from 80,000 to nearly 240,000 members, risen from 19% to 30% in the polls, and secured 900 councillors. New figures from the Electoral Commission show Reform attracted almost £1m from former Tory donors in the second quarter, including £500,000 from property billionaire Nick Candy, £200,000 from Bassim Haidar, £100,000 from Johan Christofferson and £50,000 from R20, linked to Robert Tchenguiz.
Despite the flow of donors to Reform, the Conservatives still raised significantly more than Reform or Labour from private donors. Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake said the figures “underline the continued strength of support behind the Conservative party” and that people “recognise and believe in Kemi’s mission of Conservative renewal.”
