The defection of Boris Johnson ally Marco Longhi to Reform UK represents something much bigger than the actions of an unhappy former MP

Reform UK is securing major defections without actively seeking out disgruntled ex-Tories, senior figures from the populist party have told GB News. Nigel Farage is instead attracting Conservative bigwigs due to his pre-existing relationships with veteran Brexiteers.

Reform UK now has more members than the Conservative Party, its leader Nigel Farage has said. A digital tracker on Reform's website shows its membership numbers have overtaken the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservatives earlier this year.

Nigel Farage’s party, Reform UK, claimed this morning that it had surpassed 131,680 members. According to “Britain’s fastest growing political party”, that means it has more members than the Conservatives.

A former Conservative MP has defected to Reform UK. During the Reform UK East Midlands Conference in Leicester, party leader Nigel Farage introduced Marco Longhi to the stage as "a loyal member of the Conservative Party for the last goodness knows how many years".

Ex-MP attacks Tories saying the party of Churchill and Thatcher ‘has transformed into something unrecognisable’ in another blow to new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch weeks after former minister Dam