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Zawahi joining Reform UK after calling Farage 'racist'
Birmingham Mail
|January 13, 2026
FORMER Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has joined Reform UK.
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The former Stratford-upon-Avon MP and minister, who also led the Conservative government’s vaccine programme in the early days of the pandemic, said Britain was “drinking at the last chance saloon” and “really does need Nigel Farage as prime minister”.
He announced his defection at a press conference in central London yesterday, appearing alongside Reform UK leader Mr Farage, who said the ex-Tory’s move to his party helped to dispel suggestions it was a “one-man band”.
Mr Zahawi was sacked as Tory chairman in 2023 after he breached the ministerial code over his tax affairs. He later confirmed he paid a nearly £5 million penalty to HMRC.
This story is from the January 13, 2026 edition of Birmingham Mail.
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