Conservative MP Danny Kruger defects to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, says 'The Conservatives are over'

Danny Kruger, the East Wiltshire MP and a member of the Conservative frontbench team, announced on Monday that he had defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, saying the Conservative Party was "over" as a national force and pledging to help the populist party prepare for government.

Kruger, who was first elected in 2019 and served as a shadow work and pensions minister under Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, stood alongside Farage at a Westminster press conference and said his decision had been "personally painful." He said he had been "honoured" to be asked to assist Reform UK and expressed the hope that Farage would become the next prime minister.

Kruger criticised the Conservatives' record in office, saying their rule had delivered "bigger government, social decline, lower wages, higher taxes and less of what ordinary people actually wanted." He told reporters that there had been "moments" when he had been proud to belong to the party but that it now suffered from a "toxic brand" and internal division.

The MP, who previously served as a political secretary to Boris Johnson, said his move was driven by a mission to "not just to overthrow the current system, it is to restore the system we need." He also said he had not informed Badenoch personally before making the announcement and confirmed he had approached Farage rather than the reverse.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed Kruger to the party and said the defection strengthened his team's ability to contest the next general election. The move increases Reform's ranks in the Commons; party officials said the number of Reform-affiliated MPs now equals the total it held immediately after the last general election.

Kruger's political trajectory has included roles on the right of the Conservative Party. He has been linked to the Popular Conservatives group and led opposition to assisted dying legislation in Parliament. He also ran Robert Jenrick's leadership campaign during the contest that produced Badenoch as party leader.

Despite his new affiliation, Kruger had recently criticised Reform's approach to public spending in the Commons, warning colleagues that the party risked becoming fiscally undisciplined. "They would spend money like drunken monkeys," he said in a speech two months ago, adding that an anticipated electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats to protect welfare spending would be problematic.

The defection follows a period of turbulence within the Conservative Party after its defeat in the last election, which has prompted debate among MPs and activists about strategy and future direction. Some colleagues expressed regret at Kruger's departure. Tory MP Jack Rankin said on social media he was "gutted" and described Kruger as "smart and wise and good," while reaffirming disagreement over the political vehicle for change.

Kruger is the most recent of several high-profile moves between parties in Westminster in recent years, reflecting ongoing realignment on the right of British politics. Reform UK, under Farage, has sought to position itself as the principal challenger to Labour and to attract Conservatives disillusioned with the party's direction.

Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK did not immediately provide further comment beyond the statements issued at the press conference. Kruger said he would begin working with Reform on its plans for government and that his decision represented a culmination of dissatisfaction with the Conservative Party's current leadership and trajectory.