Danny Kruger, a former Conservative heavyweight who defected to Reform UK, has outlined a series of controversial theories, including that 'America is British', heaven is 'a socialist state', and David Attenborough is 'anti-human'. The 51-year-old MP for a safe Tory seat jumped ship earlier this year, citing Nigel Farage's leadership as a key draw.
Kruger, who wrote speeches for David Cameron and worked for Boris Johnson, told the BBC he joined Reform because 'humans are pack animals' and need to know who 'top dog' is. He dismissed the Tories as 'over' but 'not dead', and said politics is mostly 'gut feeling' and 'vibes'. His defection was seen as a major coup for Reform, which has since abandoned its £90bn tax cut pledge to appear more credible.
The Eton-educated former prison charity founder now heads Reform's government preparation department. He shares the vision of Cambridge don James Orr for a 'new politics' realigning the culturally conservative 'old left' with the populist 'new right'. Kruger insists the party has evolved from 'one man with an iPhone' to a 'properly constituted' organisation.
Kruger's mother is cookery writer Prue Leith, but his political career has been marked by instability. He served as a defence minister under Boris Johnson and ran Robert Jenrick's leadership campaign before backing Kemi Badenoch. He criticised Badenoch for failing to 'hit the ground running', saying 'Labour collapsed; Reform rose. The Tories did nothing.'
