Nigel Farage Might Be Feeling Smug About Tory Defections, But There's 1 Issue He Still Has To Face

Nigel Farage pulled off one of the ultimate hat-tricks of Westminster politics earlier this week by getting a frontbencher to cross the floor.

The Reform UK leader unexpectedly announced that shadow Tory minister Danny Kruger was joining his party at a press conference on Monday, dealing a real blow to the already-beleaguered Conservatives.

Just to rub salt in the wound, Kruger also declared the Tories were “over” as a political force and that the “torch of conservatism” had officially been passed over to Farage’s up-and-coming party.

He follows a growing list of Tories who were part of the last government and have now defected, including ex-culture secretary Nadine Dorries and now Reform’s mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns.

And, just a day after Kruger, former health minister Maria Caulfield declared she had also jumped ship in the summer.

But she is no longer an MP – and Kruger’s defection was especially remarkable because he is the first sitting MP of this parliament to cross the floor.

According to Farage, there will be “more colleagues” of Kruger who will be joining Reform soon enough.

This all raises an interesting question about whether there should be a by-election –  but, Kruger confirmed during his press conference on Monday that he would not be calling a by-election.

Farage himself has previously been one of the keenest advocates for by-elections after a defection.

On GB News in 2022, the politician pushed for Christian Wakeford – who crossed the floor from the Tories to Labour – to call a by-election.

“There is nothing honourable about this man at all, or indeed the way our political system works,” Farage said. 

He said the only “acceptable” way to swap parties was to “resign your seat” and head to the ballot box.

Speaking years before Reform took off or he was even elected to parliament, Farage said: “It is an insult to voters for MPs to have the arrogance to think it is them they voted for, when the truth is most of us vote for, or against, party leaders.” 

That clip has since resurfaced in the last 24 hours and continues to make the rounds on social media.

Reform UK has been approached for comment about the U-turn in Farage’s views.

The refusal to hold a by-election may have something to do with how Reform performed in Kruger’s constituency last year.

While he was re-elected with a majority of 4,716 (10%) as a Tory, it was Labour who came in second, while the Lib Dems came in third and Reform came in fourth.

That means putting Kruger up for election again could be risky, especially considering the response among his constituents to his defection.

According to a small set of interviews conducted by PoliticsJoe, a few of Kruger’s constituents in East Wiltshire made it clear they were less than happy about the defection.

One member of the public said they felt “absolute horror” over the news, adding: “I don’t want a Reform MP in my constituency.”

But, as Richard Clewer, the leader of the Conservative group on Wiltshire Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, “he was out campaigning for the Conservatives in the run-up to the May 2025 local elections - there was no sign of it then”.

He added: “If he is so confident that the people of East Wiltshire want a Reform MP he should stand down to allow for a by-election.”

Provided Farage’s claim that there is indeed a larger body of MPs waiting in the wings to defect to Reform, it looks like this situation will only get stickier for Reform UK further down the track.