Nigel Farage said more former Conservative ministers will join Reform UK after Nadine Dorries' high‑profile defection, and Jacob Rees‑Mogg said he would be willing to advise the party if it wins a future general election — even as he reiterated he will not himself defect.
Farage, speaking on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, said Dorries’ move to Reform “brings us the one commodity we're very short of and that's experience at government level,” and called that lack of senior government experience “our biggest weakness.” Dorries, who served as culture secretary in Boris Johnson’s government, joined Farage on stage at Reform’s conference in Birmingham on Friday and declared “the Tory party is dead,” urging Conservative members to switch allegiance.
Farage acknowledged gaps in his team’s track record in office but said Dorries’ arrival was the first step in filling them and predicted further defections. “You could ask me lots of questions about policy and personnel and all the rest of it,” he told the BBC. “But if you ask me, how are you going to do this? I can't really give you an answer, because I haven't got anybody in the senior team that's ever been there before. Nadine came yesterday. She's the first, and there will be others.”
Several former Conservative MPs have already joined Reform, including Adam Holloway, Sir Jake Berry, Andrea Jenkyns, Marco Longhi, Ross Thomson, David Jones and Lee Anderson, a roster Farage said would help the party’s preparedness for government.
Rees‑Mogg, who appeared at Reform’s conference and was photographed with supporters, said he would remain with the Conservatives despite being urged by attendees to switch. He confirmed his teenage daughter Mary has joined Reform. Speaking to The Telegraph, the former cabinet minister said he would be willing to advise Reform on governance if the party wins a general election, warning that civil servants can be obstructive because of existing laws such as the Human Rights Act and the Climate Change Act. “Things Parliament has passed into law… need to be repealed to stop civil servants being able to say, ‘Minister, you can't do that,’” he said.
Reform figures have used the phrase “Boris wave” to describe a surge in legal immigration tied to visa changes under Boris Johnson from January 2021; Farage criticised Johnson at the conference, saying the influx included many people “most of whom, by the way, don't even work, and are costing us a fortune,” and said attendees would not forgive Johnson for that.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake dismissed the prospect of an alliance between the Conservatives and Reform, telling Sky News an alliance “is not going to happen.” Hollinrake also questioned how Reform would fill what he described as a £140 billion‑a‑year financial gap and said the party’s spending proposals were unrealistic.
Labour responded to Farage’s comments through party chairwoman Anna Turley, who said: “Nigel Farage has no plan for Britain. Now he's admitted he doesn't have confidence that his team is capable of delivering a plan if he did have one. ... Putting yourself forward for high office while admitting your team aren't fit to govern isn't patriotism, it's egotism.”
Reform UK has pressed its case for Brexit‑era changes to immigration and governance, framing recent defections as bolstering its competence. Conservatives have sought to portray the moves as isolated and to emphasise the practical challenges of translating Reform’s policy pledges into a fiscal plan. Labour has focused on warnings from Farage that his party lacks sufficient senior government experience, arguing voters deserve parties that can demonstrate readiness to govern.
The developments extend a wider debate on the right of British politics about unity, electoral strategy under first‑past‑the‑post and the capacity of newer parties to convert protest support into sustained governing majorities. Farage’s prediction of further defections and Rees‑Mogg’s offer of advisory help underscore the fluid alignments on the right ahead of the next general election.