‘They have to go!’ Kemi Badenoch sends message to defectors just hours after 20 Tories join Reform UK

Speaking to GB News, the Tory leader said: “I'm sorry to see councillors go. But, at the end of the day, we are making it clear that we are Conservatives.

“That means fiscal responsibility. We don't want to increase welfare. We don't want nationalisation.

“Those are Reforms policies. If people agree with those policies, then they do have to go, they're not going to get them with us.

“We're going to live within our means. And the point I keep making is that the people who jump from party to party, based on who's leading in the polls, are not the sort of people you want running your country or running your council.”

In a swipe at the defectors, Mrs Badenoch added: “When I see people leaving our party, I know these people aren't tough enough to deal with tough times.

“We need people who will stay the course, who will hold their nerve.”

Mrs Badenoch lost Mr Kruger to Reform UK in a bombshell defection last month.

The East Wiltshire MP, who Tory insiders admit is a “huge loss” to the Conservative Party, warned his former party “is over” both as a national party and as the main opposition to the left.

Mr Kruger, who became the second Tory MP to switch to Reform after Lee Anderson’s defection last March, has also been joined by a growing group of ex-Conservative MPs in Reform UK.

Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and ex-Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry also jumped ship earlier this year, taking the haul of former MPs up to 17.

The Tories also continue to haemorrhage politicians across the board, with London Assembly Member Keith Prince confirming his defection ahead of this year’s party conference.

Following this morning’s defection deluge, Mr Farage warned the Tory Party is now in a downward spiral.

The Reform UK leader said: “The Conservative Party is dead and can no longer serve as an effective opposition.

“It is no wonder that councillors who actually want to fix this country are finding their natural home with Reform.“

However, Mrs Badenoch remains convinced that the Tories are the only centre-right alternative to Labour.

She told the People’s Channel: “We're the only party that can deliver a stronger economy, stronger borders. When people ask about our plans, they stay robust.”

Mrs Badenoch went on to rule out any form of electoral alliance with Reform UK.
She said: “I’ve always, always, always ruled that out. People need to know what they're voting for.”

The Tories have spent much of the 2025 party conference taking aim at Reform UK over its plan to curb Channel crossings.

However, polling by Merlin Strategy suggests Mr Farage is most trusted to end the migrant crisis, with Mrs Badenoch falling behind both Sir Keir Starmer and “don’t know”.

Concerns about the Conservatives’ ability to stop small boats crossing the Channel stems from the failures to tackle the crisis during the party’s stint in power.

More than two-thirds of the almost 190,000 small boat migrants who have reached British shores crossed under the watch of a Tory Prime Minister, including 65,000 under Boris Johnson.

However, Mrs Badenoch looked to defend the Tory Party’s legacy.

She said: “Small boats were not caused by Tory policies. There are small boats in France. They're in Italy.

“There is a problem with global mass migration. We tried lots of things to fix it. They didn't work. People saw that we ended up in the courts, you know, stopping us from doing that. That's why we're leaving the ECHR, because we're tired of people using the courts to frustrate the democratic will.

“But you will remember the before small boats, it was Channel migrants coming through the tunnel. We fixed that. We stopped that. So, we can do it again. And that's what I want your viewers to know, that we believe immigration was too high under us.”

Mrs Badenoch admitted that the Tories made errors on legal migration, including the Boriswave.

Net migration soared to 906,000 in the year ending June 2023, rubbishing the Tories’ manifesto commitment to bring overall numbers down.

When asked if allowing so many migrants to enter the UK was a mistake, Mrs Badenoch said: “It was a mistake by omission. It was not clear until a year later how many people had come in, and immediately after that we changed lots of rules to bring the numbers down. Those numbers have come down now and we will do more.”