Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has gained more defectors (Image: Getty)
Reform UK has unveiled 20 new councillor defections after ex-chancellor Nadhim Zahawi switched earlier this week. They include 14 former Tories, five independents and one Green.
The latest defections take the total number of Reform councillors across the country to over 960. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice MP said: “I’m thrilled to welcome 20 new councillors from across the political spectrum into Reform UK. We have all the momentum in British politics and increasingly people are turning to us as the last, best hope to save this country.”
It comes after ex-Conservative chancellor Mr Zahawi announced his defection to Reform at a press conference alongside Mr Farage on Monday.
The former Tory big beast said Britain was “drinking at the last chance saloon” and “really does need Nigel Farage as prime minister”.
Mr Farage insisted his move to his party helped to dispel suggestions Reform was a “one-man band”.
But Conservative sources claimed he switched after repeatedly being refused a peerage from his old party.
A Tory source said: “Nadhim asked for a peerage several times. Given he was sacked for his dodgy tax affairs, this was never going to happen.
“His defection tells you everything you need to know about Reform being a repository for disgraced politicians.”
Nadhim Zahawi defected to Reform UK this week (Image: Getty)
Mr Zahawi was sacked as Conservative Party chairman in 2023 after he was found to have breached the ministerial code over his tax affairs.
He later confirmed he paid a nearly £5 million penalty to HMRC in order to settle the matter.
The former Cabinet minister is one of the most-significant Conservative defection to Reform UK so far.
He follows others including sitting MP for East Wiltshire Danny Kruger and ex-MPs such as Dame Andrea Jenkyns, now the mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, and former culture secretary Nadine Dorries.
The 20 councillors who have defected to Reform UK
Tony Hogben – Independent – Horsham District Council
Christine Cooper – Independent – Middlesbrough Borough Council
Kathryn Hodson – Conservatives – Wirral Borough Council
Andrew Hodson – Conservatives – Wirral Borough Council
Graham Davies – Conservatives – Wirral Borough Council
Laurence Ball – Conservatives – Sevenoaks District Council
Clarence Mitchell – Conservatives – Reading Borough Council
Barry Manners – Independent – Thanet District Council
Patti Mulcahy – Conservatives – Suffolk County Council
Dakota Dibben – Conservatives – Gravesham Borough Council
Louise Fox – Conservatives – Bolsover District Council
David Hawley – Green Party – St Helens Borough Council
Sarah Milne – Conservatives – Havant Borough Council
Tim James – Conservatives – Waltham Forest Borough Council
John Cook Woodman – Conservatives – Somerset Council
Dr Chandra Kanneganti – Conservatives – Stoke-on-Trent Council
Heather Blurton – Independent – Stoke-on-Trent Council
Donald Waldron – West Suffolk Independents – West Suffolk Council
Peter Hunt – Conservatives – Calderdale Council
Marion Fitzgerald – Conservatives – Waltham Forest Council