Nadhim Zahawi was rejected for a peerage by the Conservatives just weeks before he defected to Reform UK, Tory sources have told the Guardian. The former chancellor asked Kemi Badenoch’s top team for a seat in the House of Lords but was rebuffed because he had been sacked as Tory chair in 2023 over his tax affairs.
Zahawi was announced on Monday as Reform’s newest recruit – and the most senior former Tory to join it – as the former MP claimed Britain was on the brink of “civil unrest” and only a government led by Nigel Farage could prevent it. Both men faced awkward questions at a press conference where Zahawi was asked about his claim that Farage had made “offensive and racist” comments about him.
The Conservatives also revealed that Zahawi, who held a series of ministerial roles under Boris Johnson, had been in touch with senior party figures as recently as the end of last year. “Nadhim asked for a peerage several times. Given he was sacked for his dodgy tax affairs, this was never going to happen,” a Tory source said. “His defection tells you everything you need to know about Reform being a repository for disgraced politicians.”
Zahawi, who stood down as the MP for Stratford-on-Avon at the last election, was sacked in 2023 as Conservative party chair by Rishi Sunak after he was found to have breached the ministerial code by failing to declare an HMRC investigation into his tax affairs. Appearing alongside Farage in London, the former chancellor said he had let his Tory membership lapse in December before deciding to join Reform, which he said he was doing because the UK needed “a glorious revolution”. He had been promised no specific role in Reform and was joining as a “foot soldier”, he added.
Zahawi cited concerns about what he saw as threats to freedom of speech, the imposition of high taxes and the “big state”. Nick Candy, Reform’s treasurer and a personal friend, acted as a bridge, and Farage said the party would be looking to the former MP to help bring in new donations. A now-deleted tweet from 2015 was also brought up, in which Zahawi had written: “I’m not British born mr Nigel_Farage. I am as British as u r. Yr comments r offensive & racist. I wld be frightened 2 live in a country run by U.”
When questioned about this tweet on Monday, Zahawi said: “If I thought this man sitting next to me in any way had an issue with people of my colour or my background who have come to this country, who have integrated, assimilated, are proud of this country, worked hard in this country, paid millions of pounds in taxes in this country, invested in the country, I wouldn’t be sitting next to him.” The Reform leader said Zahawi’s arrival would help to bolster the party’s fundraising and credibility.
