Reform UK has hired a former Tory MP to help cut council spending, inflicting another defection on the Conservatives.
Ben Bradley, the former MP for Mansfield and leader of Nottinghamshire county council, joined the party on Wednesday, 17 months after losing his parliamentary seat.
He said trust in both Labour and the Conservatives was “gone and not coming back”, pledging to “ensure that communities feel the benefit of voting for Reform” in his role overseeing local government.
Reform has attracted more than 20 former Conservative MPs in recent months, although some have joined without the party’s blessing and are not expected to receive jobs.
A Reform source previously told The Telegraph that “washed-up” former Tories who joined the party in the hope of being selected for a seat at the next election would be unlikely to receive one.
Mr Bradley, 35, will serve as head of local government action and work on the party’s “Doge” efficiency campaign with Richard Tice, the deputy leader, the party has said.
He was a former vice chairman of the Conservative Party under Theresa May, but resigned over his opposition to her Chequers Brexit deal. He also broke the Tory whip during the pandemic to vote against Boris Johnson’s plans for vaccine passports and compulsory vaccination for NHS staff.
