Tory MP Suella Braverman has announced her ‘shock’ defection to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, joining multiple fellow Tory MP’s who wish to shake off some bad blood from their old party affiliation. Never mind, of course, the self-centered desire to distance from their own atrocious, widely condemned track record in government.
I warmly welcome @SuellaBraverman to Reform UK!
pic.twitter.com/eGZoK0SdKG
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) January 26, 2026
However, the Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar has astutely reminded the public that Farage had previously been adamant against Braverman joining the ranks. In turn, others have now entertained the possibility that ‘lettuce PM’ Liz Truss might follow closely behind her old colleague in government.
Nigel Farage appears to have changed his mind… pic.twitter.com/IUfhE388vN
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) January 26, 2026
Does Reform actually have ANY standards?
This latest Tory defection to Reform UK exposes Farage’s so-called “vision” for what it really is: opportunistic, divisive politics for self-interest and greed, not the ‘national reform’ he claims to champion.
We’ve written numerous times on the lies that Farage and co are more than happy to dish out. Our own Joe Glenton wrote last month about how Reform UK’s pledges to cut council spending have simply shown to be outright lies and impossibilities. Cue gasps of shock and horror. Glenton wrote:
For parties like Reform, programs of cuts like these are fundamentally about “proof of their virility”. However, of course:
it will be residents reliant on social care and children’s services who will feel the sharp cuts of Reform’s chainsaw.
This is a party which set out to combine the ethics of Mussolini and the vibes of an ale-blurred BNP piss-up with the economics of Maggie Thatcher. The lesson on this story – like so many others about Reform – is that theirs is a politics of incompetence and bluster, built on an urge to punish vulnerable people.
Political commentator Owen Jones has since pointed out that the recent defections have led to the ultimate irony that the very government Reform used to chastise, are now standing alongside Farage. In truth, the “reform” Farage championed was just a bid to become the new leader of Rishi’s brand of Conservatives, simply disguised under a different banner.
So basically Reform UK is now Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, just led by Nigel Farage. https://t.co/NF6sneFy6D
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) January 26, 2026
Dragons Den’s Deborah Meaden has since weighed in, suggesting this move is more indicative of a ‘u-turn’ in the party’s standards than Farage ‘changing his mind’:
Ah so Farage changes his mind…def not a u turn, https://t.co/vB6Gb1m3oJ
— Deborah Meaden
(@DeborahMeaden) January 26, 2026
Rishi Sunak isn’t the only leader that Farage is increasingly assimilating to, as this X account pointed out:
With this type of U-turn, he might be at home in Starmer’s Labour https://t.co/ZWtbkOIkyM
— Jack Mendel (@Mendelpol) January 26, 2026
Establishment politicians are all the same
This latest defection has exposed the very reality that yet again Farage has attempted to show conviction in order to attract new members and their cash. Once he has their cash, he is more than happy to sell them out and act none the wiser. Clearly drawing influence from his orange buddy in the US, this deflection suggests a similar abandonment of his voter base to that seen with Trump and the MAGA movement that carried him to power.
Just as Starmer’s U-turns have shown the public – much to his disadvantage – this latest whiplash episode suggests that Farage likewise lacks any real vision or principle. But we already knew that.
Featured image via the Canary
From Canary via This RSS Feed.