Full list of Conservative politicians who have defected to Reform UK so far

""Indeed, any elected politician who wants to play a part in our movement and help turn Britain around has until that date to apply to join Reform," Farage wrote in The Telegraph of the deadline, saying after that the door will be shut to current and former MPs, as well as councillors."

""Now is the time to decide: do you want to go down with the failed politics of the past, or go forward with Reform UK - the party of hope, optimism and change?""

"The party has a poor track record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, with the party's policy pledge, entitled "Our contract with you", attacking "divisive, 'woke' ideology", claiming "transgender indoctrination is causing irreversible harm to children" and vowing to ban so-called "transgender ideology" in schools, alongside stating social media platforms "push baseless transgender ideology and divisive Critical Race theory"."

"Farage himself has courted criticism for his LGBTQ+ views, as in July 2025 he branded equal marriage "wrong" and said - ironically given has been married and separated from two women - that "the most stable relationships tend to be between men and women"."

Reform UK set a 7 May deadline for parliamentary defectors to apply to join the party, with membership closed thereafter to current and former MPs and councillors. Several Conservatives have already defected, including Robert Jenrick, Andrew Rosindell and Suella Braverman. Reform UK began in 2018 as the Brexit Party before rebranding and promotes right-wing populism, anti-immigration and eurosceptic policies. The party's policy pledge titled 'Our contract with you' attacks 'woke' ideology, claims 'transgender indoctrination is causing irreversible harm to children' and vows to ban 'transgender ideology' in schools while condemning social media and Critical Race theory. The party has a poor track record on LGBTQ+ rights and has drawn criticism for its positions on equal marriage and gender.

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