Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell has followed Robert Jenrick and defected to Reform UK in yet another blow for Kemi Badenoch.
It comes just days after the former shadow justice secretary quit the Tories to join Nigel Farage’s ranks, launching a blistering attack on his former party.
Mr Rosindell, who was a shadow minister for foreign affairs, cited the Conservative Party’s position over the Chagos Islands as his main reason for defecting.
He said a “clear red line” for him was “the failure of the Conservative Party both when in government and more recently in opposition to actively hold the government to account on the issue of Chagossian self-determination and the defence of British sovereignty”.
The Romford MP argued that Reform UK is “the only political movement that is genuinely willing to fight for the best interests of the United Kingdom”, claiming the Tories were “irreparably bound to the mistakes of previous governments and unwilling to take meaningful accountability for the poor decisions” they made.
He added: “The views and concerns of the majority of the British people must no longer be sidelined. Our country has endured a generation of managed decline.
“Radical action is now required to reverse the damaging decisions of the past and to forge a new course for Britain – one that firmly places the interests of the British people first.”
It came after Mr Farage insisted over the weekend that Reform was “not a rescue charity for every panicky Tory MP”, warning that any potential defectors would have to admit publicly that the previous Conservative government “broke the country”.
Announcing Mr Rosindell’s defection, the Reform leader said: “Andrew is a great patriot. The Tories’ lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos Islands betrayal has tipped him over the edge, and we are delighted to welcome him to our ranks.
“He will be a great addition to our team ahead of the elections on May 7th.”
Last week, Mr Jenrick defected to Reform UK after he was dramatically sacked from the Conservative front bench and kicked out of the Tory party.
Launching an extraordinary attack on his former colleagues at a press conference in Westminster, the former shadow justice secretary said the party had “betrayed its voters and members” and was “in denial – or being dishonest” about its record.
He said he was joining Reform UK because the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch had failed to change after their 2024 election wipeout, arguing that the country now needs Nigel Farage.
In the days after Mr Jenrick’s defection, the Conservatives placed 11 of their MPs on a defection watch list amid fears more could follow him to Reform UK – a list which featured Mr Rosindell.
Responding to the news of his defection, a senior Tory source told The Independent: “Nigel is welcome to him. In 25 years in parliament Rosindell has never troubled the scorers.”
Figures inside the party are now convinced that former home secretary Suella Braverman could be next to jump ship to Reform.
In the wake of Mr Jenrick’s defection, Mrs Badenoch had attempted to play down talk of further MPs quitting the party, insisting that “pretty much all of Rob’s former supporters have come to me and said sorry”.
She also suggested that his decision to quit the party would bring stability to the Tories, telling The Times: “We have been destabilised for too long, the traitors are Farage’s problem now, not mine. He’ll have to watch out.”
When Mr Jenrick was asked if he knows how many Conservative colleagues will follow him to Mr Farage’s party, he told the BBC: “I have no idea, and I haven’t spoken to colleagues or asked them to do so.”
The Reform leader, who has said his party will not accept any more defectors after local elections are held on 7 May, wrote in the Telegraph over the weekend: “Any Conservative MP who still clings to the hope that their party can recover and waits until May 8 to try to leave the sinking ship does not understand how rapidly things are changing out in the country.
“Trying to use Reform as a lifeboat to save their own political skins will not wash. We have no interest in rescuing political failures.”