Suella Braverman Defects To Reform UK Amid Tory Turmoil

In a dramatic turn that has sent shockwaves through Westminster, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman defected from the Conservative Party to join Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on January 26, 2026. Her move marks the third high-profile Tory defection to Reform in just eleven days, further fueling speculation about the future of Britain’s political right and the stability of the Conservative Party itself.

The announcement came at a lively “Veterans For Reform” event in London, where Braverman, 45, took the stage to a warm reception from Reform figures and a crowd of ex-servicemen and women. With emotion evident in her voice, she declared, “I feel like I’ve come home,” a phrase she would repeat throughout the day as she explained her decision to abandon her party of three decades. According to The Independent, Braverman added, “Today I am announcing that I am resigning the Conservative whip and my party membership of 30 years. And because I believe with my heart and soul that a better future is possible for us, I am joining Reform UK.”

Braverman’s defection is the latest in a string of departures from the Conservatives, following those of Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell earlier this month. Reform UK’s tally of sitting MPs now stands at eight, a remarkable rise for a party that, until recently, had struggled to shake its outsider status. Braverman’s move comes amid what she describes as an “erosion of trust” and a sense of being “politically homeless for the best part of two years,” especially over issues like Brexit and immigration.

“Britain, she is suffering. She is not well,” Braverman told the veterans’ audience, echoing Reform’s central claim that the country is in crisis. She accused the Conservative Party of “betrayal,” citing what she called broken promises on Brexit, “out-of-control immigration,” and high taxes. “The Conservative party utterly failed to do the right thing for the British people,” she said, reiterating a critique she had leveled from within the party before her resignation.

Braverman’s political journey has been anything but quiet. Elected as MP for Fareham and Waterlooville in 2015, she rose quickly through the Conservative ranks, serving as attorney general under Boris Johnson and home secretary under both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Her tenure was marked by controversy, including her forced resignation under Truss after sending an official document to a colleague using her personal email, and her subsequent sacking by Sunak in November 2023 after she accused the Metropolitan Police of bias in their handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Despite these setbacks, Braverman remained a major figure on the party’s right, even mounting an unsuccessful leadership bid in 2022.

At the Reform UK event, she did not hold back in her criticism of her former party. “Immigration is out of control. Our public services are on their knees. People don’t feel safe,” she declared, painting a bleak picture of the country’s trajectory under Conservative leadership. She accused the party of having “no backbone” and said, “I’m calling time on Tory betrayal. I’m calling time on Tory lies. I’m calling time on a party that keeps making promises with zero intention of keeping them.”

Braverman also took aim at the Conservatives’ position on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a contentious issue on the right. “The Conservatives’ pledge to leave the convention altogether was a lie,” she said, adding that the party had no intention of following through on its tough rhetoric. Nigel Farage, Reform UK’s leader, echoed this sentiment, telling reporters that previous governments, including those Braverman served in, had been “utterly useless because they were stuck within the ECHR.” According to BBC, Farage stated, “The government was a failure but she’s now prepared to put her hands up and say, ‘we got it wrong’.”

The Conservative Party’s response was swift and, at first, unusually personal. In an initial statement, a party spokesperson said, “It was always a matter of when, not if, Suella would defect.” The statement controversially included a line about Braverman’s mental health, claiming, “The Conservatives did all we could to look after Suella’s mental health, but she was clearly very unhappy.” After public backlash, the party retracted the comment, calling it a draft sent out in error. Braverman dismissed the reference as “a bit pathetic” and evidence of “a bitter and desperate party that seems to be in free-fall.”

The reaction from across the political spectrum was immediate and fierce. Labour Party chair Anna Turley accused Farage of “stuffing his party full of the failed Tories responsible for the chaos and decline that held Britain back for 14 years.” Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper was similarly scathing, saying, “Farage has recruited yet another Conservative minister with selective amnesia – one who complains about broken Britain while conveniently forgetting they helped break it.”

Within Reform UK, Braverman’s arrival was celebrated as a coup. Nigel Farage, who admitted to having been in talks with Braverman for “just over a year,” described her as bringing much-needed experience to the party. “We need the experience of people who were on the front line – that is the one commodity we are short of,” Farage said, according to BBC. Yet, Farage’s own past criticisms of Braverman were not forgotten; two years ago, he had called her “absolutely pathetic” on immigration. When pressed, he replied, “Utterly useless as they all were. They all were utterly useless, because they were stuck within the ECHR. So she found herself in this bizarre position… we were still stuck in the ECHR, which she opposed.”

Braverman’s defection is part of a broader shift on the British right. Since the last general election, around 20 former Tory MPs—including high-profile figures like Nadhim Zahawi, Nadine Dorries, and Jake Berry—have joined Reform UK. The party’s growing ranks are causing unease within Conservative circles and intensifying speculation about further defections. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost expressed his support for Braverman on social media, fueling rumors that he, too, might jump ship. Meanwhile, rising Tory star Katie Lam has publicly denied she plans to defect, but speculation persists.

For her part, Braverman urged local Conservative activists in her constituency to join her at Reform, acknowledging that many would feel “upset and disappointed.” She likened her departure from the Conservatives to “a divorce,” describing it as a gradual erosion of trust and affiliation.

As Westminster absorbs the latest tremor in Britain’s shifting political landscape, one thing is clear: the right of British politics is in flux, and the battle for its future is far from over.