Why are MP’s crossing the Reform Rubicon

William Cash | 19th January 2026 | Comment, Politics
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As senior Conservatives continue to cross into Reform’s turquoise waters, questions grow over whether this is renewal or simply ambition dressed as principle.

Some things in politics, it seems, never change, which makes the stage so intoxicating as political theatre. Writing in his diary entry of 29 October 1980, Alan Clark summed up the Machiavellian appeal of his political vocation as an ambitious MP: What a rich, varied and exciting world politics is for those who are addicted to it. And how inextricably woven are the different strands of greed, ambition, cowardice and idealism. No one's motives are pure; certainly not mine. Treachery and self-interest are all part of the game. Nigel Farage now has seven MPs, with his critics saying that the Reform front bench team is starting to look like a leaking lifeboat for an ex-Tory MP alumni association. Indeed, there are so many defectors coming over now that Farage himself has come out and said that Reform is not a “rescue charity” for panicky Tory MPs. Still, Reform did not bother to hold a full-blown press conference when Andrew Rosindell announced his defection on Sunday evening, opting inste...

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