Reform Recruits Ex-Chancellor in Most Senior Tory Defection

Nadhim Zahawi, joins Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage during a news conference, on Jan 12.

Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi joined Reform UK in the most senior defection yet from the Conservative Party to Nigel Farage’s poll-leading populist outfit.

Zahawi’s recruitment, announced by Farage at a press conference in London on Monday, adds to a slew of political figures including councilors and former and current Members of Parliament who have left the Tories to join Reform.