Another blow for Badenoch as Rosindell joins Reform

Conservative MP and shadow foreign minister Andrew Rosindell has followed Robert Jenrick and defected to Reform UK in yet another blow for Kemi Badenoch.

- MILLIE COOKE DAVID MADDOX

It comes just days after the former shadow justice secretary quit the Tories to join Nigel Farage’s ranks, launching a blistering attack on his former party.

Mr Rosindell, who cited the Conservative Party’s position over the Chagos Islands as his main reason for defecting, argued that Reform UK is now “the only political movement that is genuinely willing to fight for the best interests of the United Kingdom”.

He said a “clear red line” for him was “the failure of the Conservative Party both when in government and more recently in opposition to actively hold the government to account on the issue of Chagossian self-determination and the defence of British sovereignty”.

The Romford MP also claimed the Tories were “irreparably bound to the mistakes of previous governments and unwilling to take meaningful accountability for the poor decisions” they made.

He added: “The views and concerns of the majority of the British people must no longer be sidelined. Our country has endured a generation of managed decline.

“Radical action is now required to reverse the damaging decisions of the past and to forge a new course for Britain - one that firmly places the interests of the British people first.”

The latest Tory defection comes after Mr Farage insisted over the weekend that Reform was "not a rescue charity for every panicky Tory MP". He warned that any potential defectors would have to admit publicly that the previous Conservative government "broke the country".

Announcing Mr Rosindell’s defection, the Reform leader said: “Andrew is a great patriot. The Tories’ lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos Islands betrayal has tipped him over the edge, and we are delighted to welcome him to our ranks.