Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Image: Getty)

“Over time, I have watched a party I once believed in lose touch with the people it was meant to serve.

“From failing to control both legal and illegal migration to pursuing a net zero agenda that has seen a rise in our household energy bills and put jobs in Stoke-on-Trent’s world famous ceramics sector at risk, the Conservative Party has understandably lost the trust of the British people.”

Jonathan Gullis has switched to Reform UK (Image: Getty)

They follow a series of others including former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry and Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who is now Reform’s Greater Lincolnshire mayor.

A Reform party source said: “The Conservative Party is dead. Only Reform can beat Labour at the next election as the polls show time and time again.”

It comes as Mr Farage’s party, which has five MPs, is consistently leading national opinion polls.

Ex-Tory MP Jonathan Gullis Defects to Reform UK in Win for Nigel Farage

Jonathan Gullis has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK, delivering another high-profile boost to Nigel Farage and highlighting the continuing movement of former Conservative politicians towards his party.

Gullis, the former Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent North and former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, announced his decision in December 2025 after 18 years as a Conservative. He said he had watched the party “lose touch with the people it was meant to serve” and argued that Reform UK offered a different political direction.

The move was significant because Gullis was not simply a former Conservative backbencher. He had served in a senior party role and had been closely associated with the Conservatives during his time in Parliament. His decision therefore added to a growing list of former Conservative politicians who had chosen to associate themselves with Reform.

Gullis represented Stoke-on-Trent North from 2019 until the 2024 general election, when he lost his parliamentary seat. Before entering politics, he worked as a teacher, and he later served as a minister responsible for school standards. His background in education was an important part of his political identity.

When announcing his move to Reform, Gullis cited several issues that had changed his view of the Conservative Party. He criticised the party’s record on both legal and illegal migration and also raised concerns about the impact of net-zero policies on household energy costs and the ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent.

His decision was welcomed by Reform figures, who presented the defection as evidence that politicians with Conservative backgrounds were increasingly looking towards Farage’s party.

For Farage, the arrival of another former Conservative politician provides additional experience and political credibility. Reform has spent much of its recent development trying to expand from a protest-oriented political movement into a party capable of operating at national and local levels.

The recruitment of former MPs is part of that transformation.

However, the significance of Gullis’s defection goes beyond one individual. It forms part of a broader pattern that has seen a succession of Conservative politicians leave their former party and join Reform.

The movement began to attract particular attention after Lee Anderson became the first sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform in March 2024. Since then, the list of former Conservatives joining Farage has expanded to include politicians such as Danny Kruger, Sir Jake Berry, Nadine Dorries, Nadhim Zahawi and Robert Jenrick.

Gullis joined Reform alongside former Conservative MPs Lia Nici and Chris Green in December 2025. The three departures were announced on the same day and represented another visible challenge to the Conservatives.

For the Conservative Party, defections of this kind raise questions about its future political direction. The party has been attempting to rebuild following its defeat at the 2024 general election, while Reform has sought to attract voters who previously supported the Conservatives.

Immigration is one of the most important areas of competition.

Gullis specifically cited the Conservatives’ record on legal and illegal migration when explaining his decision. Reform has made reducing immigration and strengthening border controls central elements of its political programme, giving the party an opportunity to distinguish itself from the Conservatives.

The economic debate is another important factor.

Gullis criticised the Conservative approach to net-zero policies, arguing that energy costs and employment in Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramics industry had been affected. Reform has frequently used energy costs and industrial policy as part of its criticism of established political parties.

These arguments illustrate why Reform has been able to attract politicians from different Conservative backgrounds. Some former Conservatives have focused primarily on immigration, while others have emphasised taxation, energy, government spending, national sovereignty or public services.

Their individual reasons for leaving the Conservatives are not identical.

Nevertheless, their decisions have collectively strengthened Reform’s profile.

Gullis’s political career also gives him a particular connection to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. After leaving Parliament, he remained active in local politics and subsequently became involved with Reform at local-government level.

In May 2026, Gullis was selected by local Reform members as leader of the Reform group on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. At the time, Reform had become the controlling group on the authority after winning 27 seats at the local elections, while the Conservatives held 15 and Labour held two.

That development illustrates how Gullis’s role within Reform has evolved since his defection. His move was initially a national political story, but it has also developed into a local political role.

For Farage, building a stronger local presence is important because national political success depends heavily on organisation outside Westminster.

Reform’s local-election performance has provided the party with opportunities to develop councillors, local groups and campaign infrastructure. Former MPs such as Gullis can contribute political experience to that process.

At the same time, joining Reform does not automatically guarantee electoral success for any individual politician. Former MPs who lost their parliamentary seats must still convince voters if they intend to return to Parliament.

Gullis’s own political future therefore remains linked to the party’s ability to build support in Staffordshire and elsewhere.

His defection also raises questions about the relationship between Reform and the Conservatives.

The two parties are competitors, particularly among voters who favour lower taxes, stricter immigration policies and greater emphasis on national sovereignty. Yet the growing number of former Conservatives joining Reform has created a relationship in which the parties are competing for voters while Reform simultaneously absorbs politicians with Conservative backgrounds.

That creates an unusual political dynamic.

Reform presents itself as an alternative to the established parties, but many of the people helping to build its organisation have experience inside those same institutions.

Supporters can interpret this as evidence that experienced politicians are recognising the strength of Reform’s political message. Critics can interpret it differently, arguing that Reform is increasingly populated by politicians who previously participated in the political system it criticises.

The factual development is the same, but its political interpretation depends on the perspective of the observer.

For Gullis, the decision appears to have been driven by his belief that the Conservative Party had moved away from the priorities he considered important. His public explanation focused particularly on migration, net-zero policy and the interests of his local community.

The move also demonstrates the continuing importance of political identity in modern Britain.

Traditional party loyalty has weakened considerably. Politicians who once regarded themselves as lifelong Conservatives have increasingly considered alternative parties, while voters have also become more willing to change their political allegiance.

Farage has sought to capitalise on this environment by presenting Reform as a vehicle for political change.

The arrival of former Conservative figures can help Reform demonstrate that it is no longer simply an outsider movement. It has people with experience of Parliament, government departments, local authorities and political campaigning.

However, that expansion also creates new responsibilities.

A party seeking to play a larger role in British politics must establish clear policies, maintain organisational discipline and demonstrate that its candidates can operate effectively at every level of government.

Gullis’s experience could therefore become useful as Reform develops its local-government presence.

The wider significance of his defection is ultimately connected to the changing balance of Britain’s political right.

The Conservatives remain an established national party with a long history of government. Reform is a newer political force seeking to challenge that position. The movement of politicians between the two parties provides a visible indication of the changing political environment.

Farage has repeatedly argued that Reform represents a break with the politics of the past. The recruitment of former Conservative politicians allows him to combine that message with the experience of people who have previously worked inside Westminster.

Whether this strategy can produce lasting political change is a question that will depend on future elections and the decisions of voters.

For now, Jonathan Gullis’s defection is an established example of the continuing realignment among politicians who previously belonged to the Conservative Party. His subsequent leadership role within Reform’s local group in Newcastle-under-Lyme has given the move an additional dimension.

The story is therefore about more than one former MP changing parties. It reflects a broader transformation in British politics, in which Reform UK is attempting to establish itself as a major political organisation while the Conservatives seek to rebuild their position.

Gullis’s decision gives Farage another experienced political figure and strengthens Reform’s presence in Staffordshire.

Whether it ultimately changes the electoral balance will depend on much more than the defection itself. But it is another clear sign that the political boundaries between Britain’s traditional centre-right and Reform UK are continuing to shift.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.