Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries defects to Reform UK

Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries has formally joined Reform UK, declaring the Conservative Party “dead” and becoming the latest high-profile defector from the governing party.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the former Mid-Bedfordshire MP said the Conservative Party’s membership must “think the unthinkable and look to the future.” The defection, announced on Thursday evening, came on the eve of Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham.

A Conservative Party spokesman responded: “We wish Nadine well.” Reform UK figures welcomed the move. Zia Yusuf, speaking from Birmingham on BBC Breakfast, called Dorries an “asset” and said she had “laid into the Tory record.” When asked if Dorries would be offered a role in any future Reform UK cabinet, Yusuf said that would be “a decision for Nigel” and that the leader was “some way from making that decision.”

Dorries served in ministerial roles under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, including as culture secretary and as a health minister, and was regarded as a close ally of his. She entered Parliament in 2005 and represented Mid-Bedfordshire. Her switch to Reform UK follows other high-profile moves from the Conservatives, including former Welsh Secretary David Jones and ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry.

Reform UK has sought to capitalise on disaffection within Conservative ranks by attracting established figures who say the party no longer represents their views. The timing of Dorries’s announcement, immediately before Reform’s conference, highlights the party’s intent to showcase defections as momentum-building ahead of public events.

Dorries’s departure is likely to add to pressure on the Conservatives as they contend with internal divisions and the loss of prominent members to a rival party. The move will be watched by political observers for its potential to further reshape the right-of-centre landscape in British politics, particularly in constituencies where former Conservative figures still hold local influence.

Reform UK has framed recent defections as endorsements of its criticism of Conservative governance. The party’s leadership has not made decisions public about future appointments involving new recruits.

Dorries’s switch completes a rapid public sequence that has unfolded over recent weeks, reinforcing a pattern of migration by some Conservatives to Reform UK. It also arrives as the opposition and smaller parties seek to define themselves in advance of forthcoming elections and political campaigns.

Further developments are expected around Reform UK’s Birmingham conference, where party figures may outline strategy and present recent joiners to delegates and media. The Conservative Party has not indicated any immediate organisational response beyond its brief statement wishing Dorries well.