Suella Braverman has defected to Reform UK, becoming the third sitting Conservative MP to join Nigel Farage's party in just over a week. Her defection brings the number of Reform MPs in the Commons to eight.
Braverman stated that her disillusionment with the Conservative Party began when she first walked into a Rishi Sunak cabinet meeting, describing it as dominated by figures on the left of the party, including Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, and Mel Stride. She felt she did not fit in.
Meanwhile, Reform UK has announced plans to slash what it calls 'highly dubious' environmental protection measures to help fund a £2bn cut to income tax in Scotland, should it win May's Holyrood elections.
In other political developments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended Labour's decision to block Andy Burnham from standing for parliament, a move that has sparked a major backlash from within his own party. Farage commented that Reform UK now has a better chance of winning the Gorton and Denton by-election without Burnham as a candidate, positioning Reform as the 'anti-Starmer' alternative.
Additionally, development minister Jenny Chapman is drawing up plans to scrap the UK's aid watchdog, raising concerns that the government is attempting to avoid scrutiny while implementing 'brutal' cuts.
