Former Conservative cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK, delivering a fresh blow to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. The Iraqi-born ex-MP, who served under four prime ministers, announced his decision on Monday, warning that Britain is “drinking at the last chance saloon” and “really does need Nigel Farage as prime minister”.
Mr Zahawi, who led the government’s vaccine programme during the pandemic and later served as chancellor, said he had decided that “the team that will deliver for this nation will be the team that Nigel will put together”. He was sacked as Conservative Party chairman in 2023 after an ethics inquiry found he had failed to disclose that he was being investigated over his tax affairs, relating to a £5 million settlement with HMRC over shares in YouGov.
In his defection speech, Mr Zahawi said Britain had reached a “dark and dangerous” moment and needed “a glorious revolution”. He cited issues with free speech and high taxes as reasons for joining Reform. Nigel Farage welcomed the move, insisting it helped dispel suggestions that Reform was a “one-man band”.
A Conservative spokesman dismissed Mr Zahawi as one of a number of “has-been politicians looking for their next gravy train”, noting that he had previously said he would be “frightened to live in a country” run by Mr Farage. Labour Party chair Anna Turley called Mr Zahawi a “discredited and disgraced politician” and said the defection showed Reform had “no shame”.
