Dorries defects to Reform UK ahead of conference opening speech

Nadine Dorries, the former Conservative culture secretary and bestselling novelist, has defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, announcing her decision in an interview published on the eve of Reform's annual conference in Birmingham. In the newspaper piece released on Thursday, Dorries said "The Tory Party is dead" and urged Conservatives to "think the unthinkable and look to the future," a move Reform said will be showcased when she delivers the conference's opening speech on Friday.

The transfer caps months of private discussions between Dorries and Reform figures and marks the highest profile Tory defection to the party to date. Reform leader Nigel Farage welcomed Dorries, saying he was "absolutely delighted" and that she would boost the party's campaign for the next general election. Reform has been buoyed by strong poll numbers this year, with estimates varying between roughly 10 and 15 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives in some surveys.

Dorries, who left the Commons in 2023 after 18 years as MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said her core political beliefs have not changed since joining the Conservatives in 1995, but that the party itself has. She told the paper she had...