Kemi Badenoch Purges Tories Amid Reform Defections

On January 24, 2026, the British Conservative Party was thrown into turmoil as its leader, Kemi Badenoch, initiated a covert purge of party members suspected of harboring sympathies for Reform UK. The move, which has sent shockwaves through the party’s ranks, comes on the heels of a series of high-profile defections that have left Conservative insiders reeling and, by many accounts, deeply anxious about the party’s future.

According to GB News and The Telegraph, Badenoch began the process by targeting long-standing Conservative supporters with emails informing them of their immediate suspension pending investigation. The communications were blunt: not only were the recipients suspended, but they were also explicitly warned not to make “any public comment or announcement [including] on social media” regarding their status. In most cases, these emails were the only contact suspended members received from Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ); no direct phone calls or meetings were offered, and, notably, no evidence of their alleged support for Reform UK was presented alongside the suspension notices.

The crackdown is the latest escalation in what many observers are calling a crisis of confidence within the party. The immediate catalyst appears to have been the defection of Robert Jenrick, the former Conservative MP and shadow justice secretary. Jenrick was sacked by Badenoch after a copy of his planned resignation speech was leaked to her office. In a dramatic move, Jenrick then joined Reform UK at a Westminster press conference, standing shoulder to shoulder with Reform’s leader, Nigel Farage. He was not alone: Andrew Rosindell, who had represented Romford as a Conservative MP since 2001, also defected to Reform UK, citing the party’s “failure on Chagossian self-determination” as his breaking point. Other notable MPs, including Nadhim Zahawi and Danny Kruger, have likewise left the Conservatives for Reform in recent weeks.

The mood inside Conservative circles is, by all accounts, bleak. Several insiders described the party as gripped by “extreme paranoia,” with one former MP warning that it was only a matter of “when, not if,” more Conservatives would follow suit and join Reform. “The Conservative Party is in a horrific death spiral,” one recently suspended member told The Telegraph. “Unless MPs on the Right of the party go out and present absolutely unyielding loyalty to the Kemi regime, there is a real, tangible fear now that the party will strike out against them.” The same ex-member went on to describe Badenoch’s approach as a “scorched earth policy,” adding, “The message being sent out is that if in any way you are sympathetic to Reform, or their ideas, we will pull your membership no matter how loyal and dedicated you have historically been to the Tory Party.”

Another suspended member, who had been actively running a local election campaign, likened Badenoch’s leadership to a “dictatorship.” He insisted, “I hadn’t been planning to defect or anything. In fact, I was running a local election campaign in my free time. But these suspensions will mean the Right of the party will be scared to speak out. It shows that One Nation Conservatives have control of the leadership.” A third member echoed these concerns, stating, “Despite what she is saying, it is clear that she is trying to purge the party of people who actually believe in conservative values.”

In response to these claims, a Conservative Party spokesman defended the suspensions, saying, “We have sent a small number of emails to people for whom we have been presented with solid evidence that they are working to help Reform politicians get elected, which is in breach party rules. The recipients are given the opportunity to contest their suspension and we are very open to hearing their defence. It speaks volumes that so far only one person has. Reform is a one-man band that wants higher taxes, higher welfare, and bigger government. The Conservative Party is the only party that is serious about cutting spending, cutting benefits and living within our means.”

To counter the perception that her leadership is faltering, Badenoch has made a series of emergency appearances before her parliamentary colleagues. Earlier this week, she called Sir John Hayes, chair of the Common Sense Group, to organize a same-day meeting with MPs on the right wing of the party. Two days later, she addressed the influential 1922 Committee, warning that an “unholy alliance” was forming between Reform and some Conservatives. Speaking directly about Robert Jenrick’s defection, Badenoch told colleagues, “We lost someone not on ideology but personal ambition. We are not moving Leftwards, we are the party of the Right and will always be a party of the Right.”

Yet, beneath this public show of confidence, many within the party remain unconvinced. The sense of “extreme paranoia” reported by insiders is palpable, with some describing the mood as one of “nervous twitching” and others suggesting that the leadership’s actions lack a coherent strategy. The fact that suspensions have been handed down without clear evidence, and that even staunchly loyal members have found themselves under suspicion, has only deepened the sense of crisis.

For the broader British public, the spectacle of the Conservative Party in apparent disarray is both riveting and unsettling. The rise of Reform UK, energized by the influx of disaffected Tories and the charismatic leadership of Nigel Farage, poses a genuine threat to the Conservatives’ traditional base. At the same time, Badenoch’s insistence that her party “will deal firmly and fairly with those undermining it” has exposed deep fissures within the Conservative ranks—fissures that, at least for now, show no sign of healing.

As the political landscape shifts, both supporters and critics of Badenoch’s approach are left wondering: is this the necessary tough medicine to preserve party discipline in turbulent times, or the first act in a bitter and protracted civil war on the British right? For now, one thing is clear: the Conservative Party, once seen as the natural party of government, is facing one of the most acute internal crises in its modern history.

Whether Badenoch’s purge will restore order or accelerate the “death spiral” remains to be seen. But with more defections expected and the party’s internal divisions laid bare for all to see, the coming weeks promise to be some of the most consequential in recent Conservative memory.