Jonathan Gullis has announced he has defected to Reform UK – less than 18 months after a blistering quarrel with the party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice
10:06, 01 Dec 2025
Ex-Tory MP Jonathan Gullis has defected to Reform(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
An ex-senior Tory who once launched an extraordinary attack on the quality of Reform UK candidates has jumped ship to Reform.
Jonathan Gullis has become the latest Conservative welcomed into the ranks of Nigel Farage’s party. The move came despite a bitter spat with Mr Farage’s number 2, Richard Tice, which saw the latter accused of making a veiled threat against him.
Mr Gullis last year mocked Reform and said it was not just putting forward a “few rotten eggs”. In response Mr Tice – who was leader at the time – hit back on Twitter/X: “With a special Easter message to Tory MP Jonathan Gullis: Given the multiple bits of embarrassing personal information we have on you, I suggest you pipe down on your attacks against me.”
READ MORE: Fury as Nigel Farage ally backs project to get young Brits to move to DubaiREAD MORE: Keir Starmer sets sights on welfare again as Rachel Reeves battles ‘lies’ claimRichard Tice previously claimed to have embarrassing personal information about Mr Gullis(Image: PA)
Mr Gullis, who lost his Stoke-on-Trent seat at the general election, got into the quarrel last year after it emerged Reform candidates included a convicted animal abuser and a fortune-teller who sold spells on OnlyFans.
He wrote in the Mail on Sunday: “Reform says its candidates have been vetted and given that all of this information was in the public domain, we can only assume this cast of characters passed Mr Tice’s muster.
“We are clearly not just talking about a ‘few rotten eggs’ here. If you are promoting candidates banned from looking after dogs, how can you honestly say they are capable of looking after the interests of their constituents?”
But he has changed his mind, telling the Stoke Sentinal: “Today I am pleased to be joining Reform UK. Leaving the Conservative Party after 18 years is not a decision I have taken lightly. Over time, I have watched a party I once believed in lose touch with the people it was meant to serve.
“From failing to control both legal and illegal migration to pursuing a net zero agenda that has seen a rise in our household energy bills and put jobs in Stoke-on-Trent’s world famous ceramics sector at risk, the Conservative Party has understandably lost the trust of the British people.”
