Reform UK firebrand Zia Yusuf has said no more Conservative defectors will be welcomed into the ranks of the insurgent party. Party leader Nigel Farage had set a deadline of the May 7 local elections for Tories to jump ship.
As election results tumbled in, Mr Yusuf declared: "The May 7 Tory deadline has passed! No more Tories!" In January, Mr Farage warned Conservatives against thinking they could switch from the blue to the turquoise team after the raft of elections. He said: "Any Conservative MP who still clings to the hope that their party can recover and waits until May 8 to try to leave the sinking ship does not understand how rapidly things are changing out in the country.
"Trying to use Reform as a lifeboat to save their own political skins will not wash. We have no interest in rescuing political failures.
Leading Tories who are now in Reform UK include ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, ex-chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, past Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry, and former prime ministerial adviser Danny Kruger, who is now at the heart of Reform's preparations for government.
However, there has been scepticism in Tory circles that Mr Farage would turn down defections during conference season.
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