Former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi on Monday became the biggest defector yet to Reform, sparking a bitter war of words between the two parties.
In a move that took Westminster by surprise, Mr Zahawi announced that Britain needs Nigel Farage as Prime Minister – despite previously branding him ‘racist’.
The 58-year-old businessman and former MP claimed the country is ‘sick’ and facing a ‘national emergency’, singling out the threat posed by radical Islam as well as a state that no longer works and the ‘waking nightmare’ of Sir Keir Starmer‘s Government.
He became the 22nd Tory to defect to Reform and the most prominent name so far, prompting claims from opponents that there is no difference between the two parties.
And he faced accusations he only changed sides after the Conservatives snubbed his ‘begging’ for a peerage because he previously had to stand down as party chairman over his tax affairs.
But Mr Zahawi insisted that only Mr Farage has what it takes to run the country, saying of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch: ‘She’s got the baggage of what I think is a defunct brand, a brand that the nation has decided they can no longer trust.’
He denied he had been promised a peerage by Reform or a specific role in a future government led by Mr Farage, saying he was only a ‘foot soldier’ in his new party.
But Mr Farage said Mr Zahawi would be ‘doing a big job for us’ and that he hoped he would reprise the success he had in raising a ‘huge amount of money’ for the Tories.
Former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi was all smiles as he posed alongside Nigel Farage, despite having once branded his vision for Britain as ‘frightening’
Mr Zahawi joined Mr Farage on a visit to anti-Iranian regime protesters gathered outside the Iranian Embassy in London on Monday
He added: ‘We are not going to become the Conservative Party 2.0, but our weakness is we lack frontline experience.
‘With people like Nadhim they’ve been on the inside, they know how government works, or perhaps more accurately, how government doesn’t work.’
In his speech setting out the reasons for his defection, Mr Zahawi said Britain had reached a ‘dark and dangerous chapter’ in its history, highlighting everything from the difficulty people have in getting GP appointments to online censorship and rising taxes.
Mr Zahawi blamed ‘overmighty bureaucratic inertia’ for the problems facing the country but also admitted the Tory government should have been more ‘forthright’ in its views.
He said the past 18 months under Labour had left him ‘terrified’ and listed the failings of eight Cabinet ministers, ranging from Sir Keir’s adherence to foreign judges to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s destruction of school standards in her ‘slavish devotion to the trade unions’.
And he warned of ‘radical Islamists waiting in the wings’ who could defeat half of the Cabinet at the next election.
He cited the Batley Grammar School teacher who is still in hiding after showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, the Crown Prosecution Service’s attempt to introduce ‘blasphemy laws via the back door’ and West Midlands Police trying to ‘lie to the public and blame the Jews’ over the threats from Muslims to fans of an Israeli football team.
‘This is a sickness deep in the heart of our country that for 40 years we have left fester, we should have nipped political Islam in Britain in the bud the moment they were protesting against an author for the crime of writing a book.’
Mr Zahawi was challenged about a 2015 Twitter post in which he described Mr Farage as ‘offensive and racist’ but said: ‘If I thought this man sitting next to me had an issue with people of my colour or my background who have come to this country, who have integrated, assimilated, proud of this country, worked hard in this country, paid millions of pounds of tax in this country, invested in the country, I wouldn’t be sitting next to him, and I don’t think he would be sitting next to me either.’
Afterwards, Tory sources claimed that Mr Zahawi had at least twice begged for a peerage but could not get one because of the row over his tax affairs.
But he insisted that his old party had told him they ‘want to look at elevating me’ and added that Mrs Badenoch had asked him for ‘help and advice’.
A Conservative spokesman said: ‘Reform is fast becoming the party of has-been politicians looking for their next gravy train.
‘Their latest recruit used to say he’d be ‘frightened to live in a country’ run by Nigel Farage, which shows the level of loyalty for sale.’
