Reform UK party gains Conservative defectors as populist momentum builds

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Two former Conservative lawmakers have defected to Reform UK this week, as the populist anti-immigration party continues its political rise despite a string of controversies.

Former Conservative lawmaker and party chairman Jake Berry announced that “Old Westminster politics has failed,” as he announced he was joining Reform.

Berry is the fifth former Conservative lawmaker to defect to Reform in recent years, and the second this week after David Jones, a former cabinet minister, became “disillusioned” by his old party.

While Berry lost his seat in last year’s general election and Jones stepped down, adding experienced politicians may help Reform become better organized following multiple fractures, suspensions and resignations.

Surviving internal struggles

In the run-up to the general election, Reform removed or swapped 110 candidates following offensive comments found on their social media accounts.

In April 2025, the former deputy leader, Ben Habib, set up a rival party after disagreements with Nigel Farage, the longtime Euroskeptic and Brexit campaigner now leading Reform in the polls.

Following Reform’s strong performance in local elections in May 2025, winning 677 seats and taking control of 10 local authorities, it has struggled to govern effectively, with 10 councilors having either resigned, been suspended or expelled.

On June 5, Zia Yusef resigned after serving as chairman of the party for 11 months, saying that she no longer believed working to get a Reform government elected was a good use of her time. Within 48 hours, Yusef returned to the party, taking up a different position.

Earlier this month, lawmaker James McMurdock left the party following scrutiny into Covid-19 loans taken out for two companies in his name — despite one of them having no registered employees. The case has been referred to the U.K.’s fraud authority. McMurdock denies any wrongdoing.

In 2006, McMurdock was jailed for 21 days for assaulting his girlfriend outside a nightclub, a conviction that he failed to disclose before being elected in 2024, which also slipped through Reform’s vetting process.

Despite the internal turbulence, Reform is topping polls as voters continue to shun both the Conservatives and the Labour government.

“Many Brits are disappointed and disillusioned with the highly professionalized politics as usual they’ve come to associate with both of Britain’s traditional big two parties,” said Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. Former Conservative voters were “promised so much by Boris Johnson and Brexit but then let down” particularly on immigration.

“Both main parties are continuing to make the classic mistake of thinking that they can counter Reform by offering voters some of what it’s offering, just in diluted form,” said Bale. “All the evidence from across Europe is that this doesn’t work. All you end up doing is talking more about the issues that favor parties like Reform rather than the issues which tend to favor you,” such as the economy, health care and the climate emergency.

“You also end up making rushed and rash promises that you can’t possibly deliver on,” he continued, the result being that “angry voters prefer the original to the copy.”

From margins to mainstream

Founded as the Brexit Party in 2018 and rebranded after the U.K. left the EU, Reform pitches itself as anti-establishment and anti-immigration. Its platform includes freezing non-essential immigration, taxing companies that hire foreign workers, and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.

This year, the party proposed a “Britannia Card” to allow wealthy foreigners to pay $340,000 to live in the U.K. tax-free. Analysis by Tax Policy Associates found that the policy would cost the government $46 billion over five years.

The party’s focus on immigration is cutting through to voters — mostly disillusioned, socially conservative voters.

“Since the turn of the 21st century, the far right has moved from the margins to the mainstream,” according to Stijn van Kessel, a professor of politics at the Queen Mary University of London. Its populist form blends nativism, a xenophobic form of nationalism and authoritarianism.

“It is this ideological combination that appeals to a considerable share of the electorates in Europe and beyond,” said van Kessel, who is a specialist in populism and the radical right.

Since April 2025, Reform has been leading in poll after poll since leapfrogging the two main parties of Labour and the Conservatives. One Ipsos poll from last month gives Farage’s party a 9% lead over Labour.

In a YouGov study, Reform was projected to win the most seats in a hypothetical election — a hung Parliament, with Farage’s party in the lead.

“Labour and Conservatives are ignoring the public’s key worry: immigration,” said Tom, a former Tory voter from the northeast of England. “Instead of focusing on the British, they’re always focused on foreign affairs. Reform is offering what the public wants. They listen, they aren’t lying.”

The party’s rise is pulling Labour rightward, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government hardening its stance on immigration, a move that has alienated parts of Labour’s base but helped Farage’s.

“By focusing more on immigration, Starmer indirectly benefits Reform UK, since voters tend to return to the party most closely associated with an issue once it’s brought to the foreground,” said Diane Bolet, a political behavior expert at the University of Essex. In this case, Reform owns the immigration narrative.

Up next: Scotland and Wales

Reform’s growth has so far been confined to England. But that may be changing. The party is now targeting devolved elections in Scotland and Wales.

Polling in Wales puts Reform in second place at 25%, ahead of Labour but behind Plaid Cymru. In Scotland, the party is building from a low base, but it stood candidates in every seat at the last general election — more than the Greens.

“Reform UK has the potential to perform well in Wales, where local identity is less dominant and opposition to the EU has historically been stronger,” said Bolet. “Scotland, by contrast, is widely known for its pro-EU, pro-migrant stance, making it a challenging environment.”

However, “Labour’s proposed phase-out of oil and gas in areas like Aberdeen could alienate workers and communities that rely on the industry,” she added. “Reform could position itself as a strong defender of the fossil fuel industry and opponent of net zero policies.”

Parallels to MAGA

For years, Farage has cultivated links with the Make America Great Again movement.

He’s spoken at U.S. President Donald Trump’s rallies, attended National Republican Conventions and visited Mar-a-Lago during the 2024 U.S. election. He met Elon Musk in Florida last year and briefly courted speculation about a $100 million donation from the tech billionaire — before Musk publicly urged Farage to step down after a disagreement.

Reform draws from the same populist playbook as MAGA, anti-elite, anti-immigration, nationalist, but in a different political context.

“Reform UK clearly fits within a broader global trend of populist radical right movements,” said Bolet, yet there are key distinctions.

“MAGA has evolved into a more openly authoritarian and anti-democratic force, often verging on neo-fascist rhetoric,” she said. By contrast, Farage “has largely distanced himself from an overt association with Trump, especially as MAGA’s global brand has become increasingly toxic and politically costly.”

On the policy level, it draws some inspiration from Musk’s work with the Trump administration. Since winning 10 local authorities in the last elections, Reform has promised to implement a DOGE-style initiative to find and eliminate public waste.

Even without national power, Reform is changing British politics.

The party benefits from the current media environment, with Farage hosting his own show on a national television channel. This “acts as a semi-permanent campaign platform,” said Bolet, “giving Reform disproportionate visibility and allowing its talking points to enter mainstream discourse regularly.”

Whether Reform’s surge holds will depend on how long voters remain angry with the Labour government and the Conservative opposition.

But so far, Farage’s message is cutting through to many disillusioned voters.

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