Shadow minister in Kemi Badenoch’s and a former political secretary to Boris Johnson, Danny Kruger, has defected to the Reform Party from the Conservative Party.
He is the first sitting MP to join the Reform Party, and Nigel Farage and the party will be eyeing more defectors as Kruger’s defection raises questions about potential further exits from the Tory ranks and signals a bold new chapter for Reform.
What Next?
Kruger brings strong conservative credentials, support for economic intervention and social conservatism to the Reform Party, the question is whether Nigel Farage will give him space to shape ideas.
For Kruger, his constituency, East Wiltshire has deep Tory roots, and defecting could cost him his Commons seat. His role in the National Conservative conference and his ties to the New Conservatives group connect him to a transatlantic network of traditionalist conservatives, from Westminster to Washington.
Kruger was a leading player, during the last Parliament, in bringing the National Conservative conference to Britain, and seeking to develop its approach in a group called the New Conservatives. There is a natural connection between these Tories (who believe in both economic intervention, at least up to a point, and social conservatism) and such emerging Reform thinkers as James Orr, plus the Republican Party of Donald Trump and, especially, JD Vance.
As such, his defection not only hurts the Conservatives but also hints at the possibility of Reform becoming a bridge between Tory traditionalists and Farage’s populist insurgency which undercuts Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to rebuild credibility with the right.
Shadow minister in Kemi Badenoch’s and a former political secretary to Boris Johnson, Danny Kruger, has defected to the Reform Party from the Conservative Party.
He is the first sitting MP to join the Reform Party, and Nigel Farage and the party will be eyeing more defectors as Kruger’s defection raises questions about potential further exits from the Tory ranks and signals a bold new chapter for Reform.
What Next?
Kruger brings strong conservative credentials, support for economic intervention and social conservatism to the Reform Party, the question is whether Nigel Farage will give him space to shape ideas.
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For Kruger, his constituency, East Wiltshire has deep Tory roots, and defecting could cost him his Commons seat. His role in the National Conservative conference and his ties to the New Conservatives group connect him to a transatlantic network of traditionalist conservatives, from Westminster to Washington.
Kruger was a leading player, during the last Parliament, in bringing the National Conservative conference to Britain, and seeking to develop its approach in a group called the New Conservatives. There is a natural connection between these Tories (who believe in both economic intervention, at least up to a point, and social conservatism) and such emerging Reform thinkers as James Orr, plus the Republican Party of Donald Trump and, especially, JD Vance.
As such, his defection not only hurts the Conservatives but also hints at the possibility of Reform becoming a bridge between Tory traditionalists and Farage’s populist insurgency which undercuts Kemi Badenoch’s attempt to rebuild credibility with the right.