Jonathan Gullis, the former deputy Conservative Party chairman, has defected to Reform UK.
The former Tory minister, who was the MP for Stoke-on-Trent from 2019 to 2024, said Kemi Badenoch’s party had “lost touch” with the public, adding that only Nigel Farage could deliver “real change”.
Mr Gullis has become the 20th current or former Conservative MP to switch allegiances to Reform, which is enjoying a comfortable lead in opinion polls.
In July, The Telegraph reported that Mr Gullis was among three former Tory frontbenchers considering whether to defect.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mr Gullis said: “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.”
‘Only Reform can deliver change’
Warning that Britain faced “serious” challenges, Mr Gullis said: “I believe only Reform UK has the vision and courage needed to restore pride in Britain and deliver real change, putting our country and our communities first.
“Nigel Farage has shown, consistently over many decades, the courage of his convictions, and it is that strength of leadership which will drive forward the bold and radical reforms our country so urgently needs.”
He added that Britain has a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – one we must not waste – to bring about the change our country truly needs under a Reform UK government”.
Mr Gullis was elected to the House of Commons during the Tories’ landslide victory in the 2019 general election under Boris Johnson.
It was the first time his Stoke-on-Trent constituency, situated in the “Red Wall” of traditional Labour heartlands, had turned Tory since its creation in 1950.
He became a prominent voice against wokery and identity politics among backbenchers before briefly serving as school standards minister under Liz Truss between Sep and Oct 2022.
