Could the Reform Party shock politics with a high-profile conservative defector?

It has been more than a century since an established political party was overthrown by an insurgent newcomer, when liberals gave way to Work.

THE rise of British reform its status as a political force capable of posing a threat to the conservatives even with only five MPs, despite its 15 percent of the vote, is underlined by the quarrel between Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch on who has the most members.

However, if Reform To finish the job, he'll need more than a website touting his supporters; it will require defections at every level, from ordinary voters (22 percent of Conservatives in July's election say they will now vote Reform) to advisers, donors and MPs.

Reformists have already courted conservatives, notably businessman Zia Yussuf, now party president; billionaire Nick Candywho is its new treasurer; ex-MPs Andrea Jenkyns And Aidan Burley; and Conservative House founder Tim Montgomerie. But it needs more prestigious names.

Top officials say many other former and even current Tory MEPs are preparing to join, but the big fish have not yet bitten.

Part of the problem may be that senior Reform Party officials have very different ideas about the best people to attract. But if 2025 is to be the year that propels the party to greater victories, then some of the names on its various wish lists (depending on who you talk to) need to come forward. Here are some targeted personalities.

Lost Leader

The idea that Boris Johnson could defect to Reform United Kingdom seems downright fanciful, and he has already said he won't abandon the Conservatives. But The Independent was said by numbers in FarageSome of them would like to see this happen and don't think it's totally impossible.

The arrival of billionaire donor Candy makes this speculation a little more interesting. He brings money to the party, but he also has long-standing friendships with Farage and Johnson as well as Donald Trump, who himself could prove to be an important link. One source said Candy was exactly the sort of person who could bring Farage and Johnson together, and thus Johnson join the Reform Party.

Furthermore, Chemistry Badenoch Election as Conservative leader rather closed the door to Johnson's return as a Conservative MP, given that it played a role in his downfall.

The idea of ​​a reformed Johnson may not be appealing to Farage; history shows that there is never room for two huge personalities in the parties he led. But if it could be achieved, it could spell the end of the conservatives and represent a realignment to the right.

In truth, this would almost certainly only happen if the Conservative Party had already all but collapsed, leaving little choice.

The darlings of the right

Suella Braverman is a name often cited as a likely defector. The former interior minister certainly has right-wing credentials for the Reform Party and her husband Raul recently defected to join the party.

But she was clear with The Independent that she has no intention of following her husband. We know that she feels loyal to her constituency party and that she still harbors conservative leadership ambitions.

Nevertheless, the Reformers continued it. She would bring a strong, charismatic female presence that they are desperately lacking at the moment and it would be a signal to the conservative right that the game is over.

Robert Jenrick has regularly been seen as a possible defector since his defeat in the final vote against Ms Badenoch. There appears to be little evidence that he wants to defect, although he has become an anti-immigration hardliner whose rhetoric often echoes reformists.

The reality is that if Tory MPs defect, they are likely to come from the list of people who supported Jenrick.

Brexiteers

Marc Françoischair of the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiteers and, in many ways, the epitome of a Brexiteer MP has certainly been the target of conversations for Reform.

However, it is understood that he is still angry at the way Reformers split the votes of many of his Tory friends who subsequently lost their seats and finds it hard to forgive Farage or Richard Tice, even s he's ideologically very much on their page.

Francis has also always maintained that he is too rooted in the conservative family to want to change parties. On top of all this, Ms Badenoch wisely gave him the number two position in her defense team.

Jacob Rees-Moggwould certainly be a high profile scalp if he defected. A fellow GB News presenter and friend of Farages and other reformists, her sister Annunziata was an MEP for the Brexit Party. Yet his tribal ties to conservatives make this move unlikely, but not impossible.

Defeated MPs

Marco Longhiformer MP for Dudley North, is a name that comes up often. He was heavily courted before the general election and resisted. Some suggested he was offered a large sum of money to defect and said no. But he is also still close friends with Lee Anderson, who eventually joined the Reform Party.

Again, there is little evidence that he would change and lots of denials (but Andrea Jenkyns also resisted the Reformers' charms before the election and is now their Lincolnshire mayoral candidate.)

Other so-called red wall conservative MPs were also mentioned, such as Brendan Clarke Smith (formerly Bassetlaw) and Tom Hunt (formerly Ipswich). But both made it clear they wanted to defend conservatives again.

The thinker

Philippe Blonddirector of the RespPublica think tank, conservative visionary, former adviser to David Cameron, inventor of Red Toryism and the Big Society, is a name to watch. In a way, he is one of the most susceptible people defectors.

Blond was prevented from running for Parliament by the Conservatives, probably because he is too close to himself and is quite outspoken. But he is one of the few true conservative intellectuals and would be a real asset to the reformists. Maybe all they have to do is give him a winnable seat to run.

A Blond defection would be similar to the shock caused by the departure of ConHome founder Tim Montgomeries; this would mean not only that money would be taken away from conservatives, but also from those with ideas.