So now, as the dust starts to settle, how do I really feel after my divorce from the Tory Party and defection to Reform?
It’s a question I’ve been asked more times than I can count in the past five days. And the answer is simple: my overriding emotion is relief – which itself is an enormous relief, given how much trepidation, anxiety and even fear I felt before taking such a huge step. The move has been full of surprises and, so far at least, all of them good.
Over the weekend I met an investment banker who told me that, if I’d joined Reform six months ago, he’d have thought I’d lost the plot. ‘Now, if there was an election tomorrow, I would vote Reform,’ he told me.
‘Were you a Conservative voter before?’ I asked him, although I’d guessed the answer already.
‘Yes, but never again. I’m going to join Reform – it’s time for a revolution,’ he said. ‘When it comes to the Tories and Labour, a plague on all their houses.’
In retrospect, my continued membership of the Conservative Party was like being in a coercive and controlling relationship.
A relationship where I kept on forgiving the wayward partner for messing up; for making endless, stupid mistakes; for failing to live up to promises made; and for generally behaving in an abusive and destructive manner.
But I was too scared to leave, for fear of what I would face on the other side and how the partner would react.
Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries speaks on day one of the Reform UK conference in Birmingham
I didn’t want to disappoint party members who’d supported me over the years, or let down those colleagues I was still fond of who were determined to battle on, trying to flog a dead horse of a party and refusing to switch off the life support.
Yet I have been blown away by the overwhelming support I’ve received. When the news of my defection dropped on the Daily Mail website at 7pm on Thursday evening, my phone exploded with texts.
‘Here we go,’ I thought, as I began to open the messages. I expected that they would accuse me of despicable disloyalty, of being a traitor to the cause. But the opposite was true.
My phone was full of love and support, and I even had messages from Tory MPs with whom I’ve worked – and who no doubt see the writing on the wall – wishing me well.
That was my first welcome surprise. The second was attending the Reform Party conference in Birmingham on Friday.
The energy and enthusiasm, the warmth and general bonhomie of the packed auditorium, reminded me of Conservative Party conferences in years gone by.
Back then, conferences were events at which rank and file party members gathered, filling every available hotel and B&B; got their five minutes at the microphone; and mingled freely with MPs and (at the time) shadow ministers.
By day they sat through the serious speeches given by the party’s Big Beasts; at night they joined in with fringe events, taking part in debates and quizzing senior figures past and present. They attended receptions and dinners and would carouse into the small hours.
That all changed almost overnight when David Cameron and George Osborne took over the party. The ‘modernisers’ turned conferences into corporate affairs. Those running the party machine had no desire to get up close and personal with the grassroots, the people who knocked on doors and delivered leaflets in all weathers.
It was the beginning of the end. Party members began to fade away as seats were sold largely to lobbyists, PR firms
and businesses who wanted to cosy up to policy makers and politicians. The auditoriums were no longer packed, and the passion and energy had dissipated.
In Birmingham, I saw none of that disdain for members. Indeed, Nigel Farage and his deputy Richard Tice appeared to relish every encounter with Reform supporters. And as I stepped out onto the stage, the first happy faces I spied in the audience were those of stalwart members from my former Conservative association in Mid Bedfordshire.
They weren’t the only familiar faces I saw as I headed off to do a TV interview. ‘We got here first, Nadine,’ they shouted good-naturedly. ‘Good to have you with us.’ By this point, it felt more like a homecoming than a defection.
Over the weekend, many more people went out of their way to talk to me about what I’d done and why. And their feelings were clear: both the Conservatives and Labour have failed the voters, time and time again, and voters are done being taken for fools.
The Conservative Party has always sold the fact that it is a broad church as a virtue. However, if half of your MPs are ‘wets’ – to the left of centre – that leads to a big problem when this broad church takes the keys to No10. Governing effectively becomes almost impossible.
Meanwhile, those who voted Labour have been hugely disappointed by how catastrophically dreadful Starmer & Co’s first year in power has been, and the resulting state of the nation. The power of the party’s backbenchers makes meaningful reform well-nigh impossible.
Times have changed. In yesteryear, political parties largely evaded accountability and scrutiny. The worst it got was a weekly appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions which was forgotten within hours. We now live in a world of social media and 24/7 rolling news and commentary. People are better informed than they were even five years ago.
If ministers spin, they are called out for it. If they lie, their lies are quickly exposed. If they dodge paying council tax or take freebies from a friendly donor, then they have only themselves to blame when it becomes public knowledge.
Voters, empowered as never before, are forming their own opinions and making a stand. The Conservative Party cannot hide from its past record in government or the regicidal, self-serving nature of many of its MPs. Labour cannot disguise its daily failings on everything from the economy to illegal migration.
The people have had enough and it’s to Farage and Reform that they are turning. From what I’ve seen so far, they won’t be disappointed.
There may not yet be enough meat on the bones of Reform policies, but the intent of those policies is understood. People know who Nigel Farage is and what the party stands for – its ethos and principles.
My final surprise came from some of those lifelong Conservative supporters who feel they just can’t make the leap (not yet!) to Reform. They wished me well; they see Farage as the man who might save the country they no longer recognise.
‘We don’t have to join anyway,’ one said to me. ‘Like Jacob Rees-Mogg’s daughter, Mary, they’ve got our kids!’ He was referring to the young offspring who are joining Reform.
And that was truly the biggest surprise of all. They’ve got the kids. The kids are the future – and, hopefully, so is Reform.
Listen to Nadine’s interview with Sarah Vine and Peter Hitchen on the latest episode of Alas Vine & Hitchens. Available wherever you get your podcasts now – or by clicking here.
My tip for Beyonce’s Cotswolds move…
Jay-Z and Beyonce pictured in Hollywood in 2024. The pair are now reportedly moving to the Cotswolds
Beyonce and Jay-Z are moving to the Cotswolds apparently, joining the hordes of stars who’ve made this glorious slice of England their home.
Kate Moss is a resident, as are the Beckhams; Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi; Simon Cowell; Damien Hirst etc.
Regular readers will know that I’ve lived there for many decades, too – and, for the record, I don’t know anyone who’s seen Ellen out and about.
But I have no problem with starry neighbours – if they observe the rules. Be a part of the community. Shop locally. Eat local produce, support our farmers – and enjoy the rain and mud when it comes.
