Nadhim Zahawi defects to Reform: ‘He saw where the wind was blowing and fancied a bit of it’
Nadhim Zahawi’s defection to Reform UK is the highest profile yet, but does he really believe in Nigel Farage’s politics, or does he want a second run at being an MP?
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In brief…
- Former Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK, blaming the problems in the UK for his choice to join Nigel Farage.
- The News Agents say it is “unarguable” that the problems facing Britain are due to 14 years of Tory government.
- Lewis Goodall says Zahawi moved to Reform only because he “saw where the wind was blowing”.
What’s the story?
Nadhim Zahawi in 2015: “Nigel Farage, your comments are offensive and racist. I would be frightened to live in a country run by you.”
Nadhim Zahawi in 2026: “Britain needs Nigel Farage as Prime Minister.”
The former Conservative Party chairman has defected to Reform UK, having lost his Tory seat in the 2024 general election, and is the highest-profile defection to Farage’s party yet.
“Britain is broken. I’m convinced that Britain needs Reform,” Zahawi said in a video announcing his defection.
“Nothing works, there’s no growth, there’s crime on our streets and there is an avalanche of illegal migration that, anywhere else in the world, would be a national emergency.”
Zahawi was an MP during 14 years of Tory government leading up to Labour’s win in July 24.
“Progress on public services clearly isn't as fast as anyone would like, including Labour, but when Labour left office in 2010 you could get a doctor's appointment relatively easily,” says Lewis Goodall.
“The reason that you can't get a doctor's appointment now is 14 years of Conservative government.
“These were governments that Zahawi was part of which oversaw that decline. That is unarguable – and that's a problem for Reform.”
Does Zahawi’s defection pose a problem for Reform?
Zahawi is better known than previous defections to Reform, but he is cut from the same cloth as the likes of Nadine Dorries and Danny Kruger – the hard right of the party.
“The danger for Reform is that this is the latest of a string of former MPs that all tend to be rather alike,” says Lewis.
“They're all from a particular wing of the Conservative Party – the hardcore radical right – perhaps most associated with Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and those sorts of people.
“It is a potential vulnerability that some in Reform have been grappling with because it burnishes the argument from the Labour Party, that these are just a bunch of Tories in Reform clothing.”
The News Agents unimpressed by Reform defections
Lewis says he has previously considered Zahawi "one of the good ones", but admits he has no time for defectors.
He believes the former (brief) chancellor of the exchequer has moved to Reform because he sees it as a second shot at returning to the House of Commons.
“Unless you have a very good reason, you've been driven out of your party or subject to particularly appalling treatment, it's just leaving because you see which way the wind is blowing, and you think you fancy a go at that,” Lewis says.
He says defections are an insult to party activists who put in the hard graft drumming up support for their chosen party, and to the parties themselves, who have made a name of their MPs.
“Defectors turn around and say: 'Screw you, screw the party. I can see that politics is moving in another direction, and I'm going to join them’,” he says.
“The only reason anyone knows who they are is because of the rosette they wore, and I just think it's offensive.
“I can totally understand why Kemi Badenoch would be mega pissed off.”