Conservative MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK

Conservative MP Danny Kruger announced on Monday that he has defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, saying the Conservative Party is "over" and accepting a role leading Reform's preparations for government. The East Wiltshire MP made the declaration at a press conference in Mayfair alongside Mr Farage, bringing the number of Reform MPs back to five and marking the first sitting Conservative MP to join the party in this Parliament.

Kruger, who has served as an MP since 2019 and was a shadow work and pensions minister in Kemi Badenoch's team, told reporters he had been "honoured" to be asked to help prepare Reform for government and said he hoped Mr Farage would be the next prime minister. He argued that Britain faces multiple crises, citing the economy, the border, public safety and the armed forces, and said that while the country is not broken it is "badly damaged". He also said he had hoped the Conservatives would learn lessons from their general election defeat last July but accused the party of a year of "stasis and drift" and "sham unity".

Mr Farage welcomed Kruger at the event and said the move was a significant boost for Reform, which has recently attracted high-profile...