Zahawi moves to Reform amid peerage bid claims

The former Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi defected to Reform UK yesterday - but immediately faced accusations of angling for a peerage from Kemi Badenoch just weeks ago.

- Ben Quinn Pippa Crerar

Tory sources claimed Zahawi's approach was rebuffed because he had been sacked as Tory chair in 2023 over his tax affairs.

Zahawi was announced yesterday as Reform's newest recruit - and the most senior former Tory to join the party - as the former MP claimed Britain was on the brink of “civil unrest” and that only a government led by Nigel Farage could prevent it.

Both men faced awkward questions at a press conference during which Zahawi was asked about his claim that Farage had made “offensive and racist” comments about him.

The Conservatives also revealed that Zahawi, who held a various ministerial roles under Boris Johnson, had been in touch with senior party figures as recently as the end of last year.

“Nadhim asked for a peerage several times,” a Tory source said. “Given he was sacked for his dodgy tax affairs, this was never going to happen. His defection tells you everything you need to know about Reform being a repository for disgraced politicians.”

‘The Tories said Zahawi had got in touch with them, rather than the other way round. They pointed out that he joined Reform just weeks after Badenoch released her latest political honours list, on which he did not feature.

“While he wasn’t rudely rebuffed by us, he was never going to be made a peer,” the source added. “His defection came at a time that it was apparent he wasn’t going to get one.”

Appearing alongside Farage in London, Zahawi said he had let his Tory membership lapse in December before deciding to join Reform - a decision he was making because the UK needed “a glorious revolution”.