Danny Kruger has turn out to be the primary sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK.
Politics newest: Kruger’s letters to constituents
Mr Kruger has been a Conservative MP since 2019 and has been on the Tory frontbench since then, currently as a shadow work and pensions minister beneath Kemi Badenoch’s management.
He’s the primary sitting Tory MP to defect to Reform and stated he knowledgeable the Tory chief whip this morning.
Saying his defection, Mr Kruger stated: “The Conservative Party is over, over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the Left.
“However I’m not despondent as a result of conservatism will not be over. It is by no means been wanted extra. And really, it is by no means been extra vibrant.
“Because the failure of the Conservative Party has created space for an alternative. The flame is passing from one torch to another.”
He stated his defection is “very painful” however added: “I’m leaving because I think the party is over.”
Picture:
Nigel Farage shakes arms with former Conservative MP Danny Kruger. Pic: PA
The Tory social gathering will not be lifeless
He added that Mr Farage “may be our last hope” on the political Proper and he’s “proud to follow him”, though he admitted defecting is a “big risk”, particularly as his seat is “not particularly” a Reform goal.
Mr Kruger, who’s TV chef Dame Prue Leith’s son, has turn out to be most well-known for main opposition to the assisted dying invoice – and his differing views on the topic from his mom, who’s an advocate.
The MP stated he has been a Conservative activist and MP for greater than 20 years, however he doesn’t consider the “divided, discredited Conservative Party” can unite to win energy and “deliver the change that is needed”.
Picture:
Reform deputy chief Richard Tice (second from proper) and Reform’s billionaire treasurer Nick Sweet (proper) listened intently to Danny Kruger. Pic: PA
He stated he has “great personal regard” for Conservative chief Ms Badenoch and thinks she has finished a “very, very difficult job with courage and resilience” – however stated “the problem is the Conservative Party”, which he stated is split and “a toxic brand”.
The MP revealed he began to consider defecting when Lee Anderson, a Tory MP who grew to become an impartial, moved to Reform in June 2024.
Mr Kruger stated it was “fair enough” to be questioned about how he, as an Eton and Oxford graduate, can perceive the British folks, however pointed to the charity he based working in prisons to cease re-offending and his work as a constituency MP.
Kruger’s defection has a special really feel
Liz Bates
@wizbates
Danny Kruger is the primary sitting Conservative MP to go away his social gathering and be a part of the opposite aspect (Lee Anderson had already been suspended).
And this one had a special really feel to it – as Mr Kruger is rather more the normal Tory than people who got here earlier than him.
An Eton and Oxbridge-educated politician from the Conservative heartland seat of East Wiltshire – he seems to be and feels like a part of the Tory social gathering furnishings.
However his evaluation of their future could not have been extra damning – he has not, he says, deserted conservatism, it merely has a brand new residence with Reform.
Requested if he believes the Tories have a future in any respect, he stated by no means because the political opposition.
This is the reason it may characterize one more breakthrough second for Farage’s social gathering – if even MPs like him are wavering, Reform may take swathes of the Conservatives and much more political momentum.
A change of coronary heart
The MP seems to have modified his thoughts on Reform’s skilled accolades after telling MPs within the Commons in July: “I do quite like the Reform Party and I agree with its members on lots of things, but there is a problem: They would spend money like drunken sailors.
“I can see what is going on and I’m very anxious about it – they are going to find yourself in an electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats with a joint ticket to guard welfare spending. I have no idea how honorary members really feel in regards to the anticipated alliance.”
Badenoch: Tories only party of conservatives
Speaking moments after Mr Kruger announced his defection, Ms Badenoch said: “We’re the one social gathering of conservatives who’re engaged on coping with the federal government that now we have now.
“We want them to live within our means. The economy is in freefall. They don’t know what to do.”
She stated Sir Keir Starmer is “facing a political crisis” and the Conservatives are “the only people who are drawing attention to that”.
Labour: Farage has no plan
A Labour Celebration spokesperson stated: “Every Conservative who defects to Reform ties Nigel Farage more closely to their record of failure. Nigel Farage can recruit as many failed Tories as he likes – it won’t change the fact that he has no plan for Britain.
“The Tories crashed our economic system and left public providers crumbling. Britain deserves higher than Reform’s Tory tribute act that would go away working folks paying a really excessive worth.
“Only this Labour government is driving forwards delivery to make working people better off and give our country the renewal it needs.”
