The next defector How far will Farage's party go to bag a Conservative big beast?

At Last year's GB News Christmas party, Suella Braverman was the centre of attention. However, it wasn't the former home secretary's straight-talking brand of conservatism that was the topic of the evening, but the growing whispers about what some thought was her imminent defection to Reform UK.

- Rowena Mason Ben Quinn

"It was like a panto - everyone saying: 'Oh yes you will', and her saying: 'Oh no, I won't," said one Reform party guest. "We all thought she was just biding her time until the right moment."

The chatter had been given fresh impetus by the fact that Braverman's husband, Rael, had joined Nigel Farage's party. With Reform soaring in the polls and talk of defections rife across Westminster, the "Suella moment" seemed to be approaching.

Officially, Reform UK insists there is no concerted mission to attract Tory defectors, with no joiner too grand to avoid being directed to an online "defection portal" set up to vet new members.

In reality, insiders say, there has been a scattergun campaign to bring senior Tories onboard; an operation that could yet have more success when MPs head back to their constituencies for the summer recess and see the scale of Reform's popularity with disillusioned voters.

The headhunting so far has largely been driven by personal connections with Farage, Richard Tice and other senior figures, based on political friendships forged in the crucible of the Brexit leave campaign and the GB News green room. Success has come with the recruitment of the former Tory chair Sir Jake Berry, the former cabinet minister David Jones, Andrea Jenkyns and Marco Longhi, as well as a steady flow of local councillors and Tory activists.

But the big-name Tory rightwingers who are often linked to Reform, including Braverman, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Liz Truss - have so far resisted the entreaties of their former colleagues who have made the leap.

Reform's patience in waiting for them, it seems, is not limitless. This week, for example, appeared to be the point at which Reform turned on Braverman: the party suddenly ratcheted up the attacks on her record, and that of the Conservatives more widely, over their role in a government cover-up of a scheme to resettle thousands of Afghans exposed by a dangerous data leak.