Huge blow for Kemi Badenoch as former Tory Party chairman announces defection to Reform

Reform UK secured a second major defection this week as former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry announced he is ditching Kemi Badenoch for Nigel Farage.

In yet another blow for Ms Badenoch, Sir Jake said Reform is now the "last chance to pull Britain back from terminal decline".

Slamming the party he has been a member of for 25 years, the top Tory warned that his old party has "lost their way" and are set for defeat after "abandoning the British people".

Sir Jake served in a number of prominent roles over the past few years, including as chairman of the Tory Party during Liz Truss's short-lived government.

He also headed up the Red Wall Tory faction, fighting for the north of England and ensuring its prominence during Boris Johnson's government.

Announcing his bombshell move in The Sun this evening, Sir Jake said: "Britain is broken... I know who broke it because I was there."

"For 30 years I supported the Conservative Party, for 14 years I was one of their MPs sitting at that Cabinet table twice.

"And I want to tell you today that I have come to a decision. The old parties do not have what it takes to transform our country, to build a Britain we can believe in again. And that's why I've decided to join the Reform Party.

"It is only Reform, and Nigel Farage, who can deliver a Britain we are proud of again. Nigel Farage has always stuck by his principles, even when it was unpopular he campaigned for Brexit. We know we can trust him, he doesn't change his views when the political weather changes.

"And that's why I'm going to spend every day campaigning to ensure that Nigel Farage and Reform form the next government of this great United Kingdom."

Nigel Farage branded Sir Jake's defection to Reform "very brave", adding: "His admission that the Conservative government he was part of broke the country is unprecedented and principled."

It's the second ex-Cabinet member defection to Reform this week alone, after former Welsh Secretary David Jones declared Mr Farage's party "the party that best represents my views - and, I believe, those of many others who have become disillusioned with the two old major parties."

Despite a knock with the departure of James McMurdock MP last weekend, Reform has shown no sign of faltering momentum.

The latest poll on Monday found Reform still way out in the lead on 30%, with Labour 8 points behind and the Tories trailing in a distant third.

Mr Berry branded the toppling of Boris Johnson by Tory MPs "insane", branding him "the best collateral asset that the Conservative Party has had for 100 years".