Why the latest defection to Reform could trigger a wave of Tories switching to Farage’s party
Share:
News analysis: The defection of Boris Johnson ally Marco Longhi to Reform UK represents something much bigger than the actions of an unhappy former MP. The defection of ex-Tory MP Mario Longhi to the Reform Party is the latest stage in a struggle to the death between Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch.
![[Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking to supporters in Leicester (Jacob King/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/04/00/010d499c24410394e4365b0031fe0edcY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2MDM0MDA1-2.78608517.jpg)
Mr Longhi’s switch was announced by Farage in a blaze of publicity as the centrepiece of a Reform rally in Leicester last night. It is the latest in a series of regional rallies planned by Reform - and Badenoch would be right to dread the prospect that Mr Farage may taunt her by unveiling yet more Tory turncoats.
![[Boris Johnson is a Reform target (Victoria Jones/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/13/3b8c07f2198db6c87a3a36927f5ee448Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMxNzAzNTQ3-2.71473626.jpg)
A raft of Tory names have defected to Reform in recent weeks, including former MPs from the right of the party, Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Aiden Burley, as well as ConHome founder Tim Montgomerie and a major former Tory donor Nick Candy. This is not forgetting Raul Braverman, husband of the darling of the Tory right Suella Braverman, who herself remains a major target for Farage and his team.
But the big prize for Reform would be to attract a truly high profile Conservative rather than just one of many former Tory MPs discarded by the voters in July last year or a disaffected Tory councillors. Top of the wish list for some senior figures in Reform is, of course, Boris Johnson. But while Longhi and Jenkyns were both leading supporters of Johnson, no one is seriously expecting to see the former prime minister to defect.
