Top Tory Brexiteer defects to Reform UK in huge win for Nigel Farage

An ex-Tory Cabinet minister and leading Brexiteer has joined Reform UK in a major defection. David Jones said Reform is the party that "best represents my views" and warned of disillusionment with the Tories and Labour.

The former Brexit minister said the two main parties are not doing enough to tackle issues including illegal immigration and "the steady erosion of our national sovereignty". Mr Jones told GB News: "Today, Reform UK is the party that best represents my views - and, I believe, those of many others who have become disillusioned with the two old major parties.

"Across the country, people are rightly concerned about the rising cost of living, the escalating crisis of illegal immigration, and the steady erosion of our national sovereignty.

"Neither the Government nor the official Opposition is addressing these issues with the urgency or resolve they demand - indeed, the Government is actively surrendering our sovereignty at an alarming rate.

"Only Reform UK is demonstrating the determination needed to tackle the country's many problems and to improve the lives of people across Britain."

The former Welsh Secretary said he did not receive a reply when he wrote to the Conservative Party saying he would not renew his membership.

He said: "I left the Conservative Party in January, bringing to an end more than 50 years of continuous membership. It was, naturally, a very difficult decision for me.

"As a matter of courtesy, I wrote to the party chairman in October to inform him of my intention not to renew my membership. I did not receive a reply.

"I joined the Conservatives all those years ago because I believed it was the party that best reflected my values and beliefs. Regrettably, that is no longer the case."

Mr Jones added that he did not intend to return to frontline politics.

He said: "I have joined Reform UK as a private individual and have no intention of seeking elected office. But I will give the party my full support in the elections ahead."

Mr Jones was the Conservative MP for Clwyd West from 2005 until the last general election when he stood down.

He was a key figure in the Brexit campaign and served as deputy chairman of the influential European Research Group of Tory backbench Brexiteers from 2019 to 2024.

Mr Jones is the latest in a series of defections to Reform from the Tories.

Others who have jumped ship include ex-Tory minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who is Greater Lincolnshire mayor, and former Red Wall MP Marco Longhi.