The first reaction to Nadhim Zahawi’s defection to Reform UK revolves around the political baggage he brings with him. The former chancellor’s political career was inextricably intertwined with the Conservative Party’s spiral toward electoral disaster at the 2024 general election.
Zahawi, whose prominence in the Conservative psychodrama elevated him to ‘big beast’ status, did not stand in the 2024 election. His farewell statement was even tinged with a hint of penance. “My mistakes have been mine”, he declared, “and my successes have come from working with, and leading, amazing people.”
Zahawi’s “mistakes” matter because they are many. He first achieved cabinet-rank status in September 2021. Rewarded for his efforts as vaccines minister, he was appointed to the post of education secretary by Boris Johnson. Zahawi served in this position loyally until his next promotion – which came during the ministerial exodus of July 2022. He filled the hole left in the Treasury by Rishi Sunak’s resignation as chancellor.
Keir Starmer, then leader of the opposition, mocked the protestations of those who accepted high office during the dying days of Johnson’s administration as the “charge of the lightweight brigade”.
Zahawi soon turned his fire on the prime minister. Within days of his appointment as chancellor, Zahawi helped force Johnson from office. He was among the senior ministerial delegation who welcomed the prime minister back to Downing Street after his swansong liaison committee appearance. In a public statement, Zahawi said the situation was “not sustainable and will only get worse”.
Johnson’s belated acceptance of political reality precipitated the July-September 2022 Conservative leadership contest. Zahawi announced his own candidacy, securing just 25 supporters on the first MP ballot. Subsequently, alongside the bulk of the Johnson-allied elements of the Conservative Party seeking to extend their ministerial careers, Zahawi endorsed Liz Truss. In an article for the Telegraph, Zahawi lavished praise on the foreign secretary “for her leadership, her economic plans, and her ability to deliver”.
Zahawi entered the Cabinet Office as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in September 2022 – before swiftly exiting as the financial fallout from the mini-budget levelled the short-lived Truss ministry.
Zahawi was deemed to have sufficient political clout to be rewarded with an office in Sunak’s administration. It would be a decision that the new prime minister, Zahawi’s predecessor as chancellor, would immediately come to regret. In fact, the Conservative chairman emerged as the most serious self-imposed challenge to Sunak’s “integrity, professionalism and accountability” maxim. Zahawi had failed to disclose a HMRC probe into his affairs when appointed education secretary in September 2021, and again when appointed chancellor in July 2022. Upon his promotion as chancellor, Zahawi appeared to refer to reports of an HMRC investigation as “smears”.
His dismissal on 29 January 2023 followed an investigation by Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministers’ interests. Magnus concluded that Zahawi had committed a “serious breach” of the ministerial code regarding his tax affairs.
In the seven months that separated his appointment as chancellor in July 2022 from his sacking as Tory chairman in January 2023, Zahawi showed seriously questionable political judgment. It was a story of crippling climbdowns, evasive-sounding explanations and misplaced loyalties.
This tale, of course, begs serious questions of the political judgment shown by those strategists who welcomed Zahawi into the Reform tent today.
The defection, put simply, strengthens the argument that Reform is increasingly functioning as a refuge for Conservative flotsam and jetsam. After the defections of David Jones, Ross Thomson, Marco Longhi, Andrea Jenkyns, Jake Berry, Adam Holloway, Maria Caulfield, Danny Kruger, Lee Anderson, Chris Green, Lia Nici, Jonathan Gullis and Nadine Dorries, Labour is unlikely to abandon this line of attack. Zahawi’s defection also points to a pattern evident across recent defections. The former chancellor is the latest long-standing Johnson ally with an axe to grind to find refuge in Faragism.
What is most revealing about today’s theatre, however, is how the defection reflects back on Farage.
The Reform UK leader has settled on a political strategy that involves attracting ex-Tories; to this end, the party has even set up a dedicated turncoat department. There are a few explanations for this approach; firstly, by attracting those with parliamentary and administrative experience, Reform wants to reinforce its claim as a prospective party of government. There is also a storytelling element; by literally draining the Conservative Party’s talent base, Farage can paint his opponents on the right as politically moribund.
This is how Farage conceives of the political landscape and news agenda. There are those with momentum, and those without it.
His weekly press conferences are planned to create the impression of a Reform insurgency. They are a staple of the Faragist playbook – simple theatre to steer the eyes of Westminster onto his political operation. The fight on the right has tightened in recent months; Reform’s populist recipe of weekly press conferences, bolstered by a steady drumbeat of defections, is designed to inspire the impression of Faragist strength.
But there is an inherent peril in Farage’s trusted political model.
After all, Reform’s defected elements may not always be the best advertisement for administrative competence. It is a testament to the Reform leader’s powers of presentation that figures who might otherwise be dismissed as political has-beens are now styled as harbingers of the future.
One wonders too whether the preponderance of ex-Tories in Reform’s ranks will become a source of internal tension. From a Reform perspective, Farage’s strategy is not beyond reproach; there will no doubt be different levels of enthusiasm about embracing former Conservatives across the party. Indeed, what does Farage’s reliance on defections say about his ability to cultivate political talent?
What does it say about the Reform leader’s estimation of his current bench of talent?
The key question regarding Farage’s defection strategy is whether it obscures more than it reveals about the position of Reform in the political landscape. Farage loves the theatre associated with the literal unveiling of a Tory ‘big beast’ such as Zahawi. Theatre is a necessary part of politics – especially of the populist variety. But it is no substitute for true professionalisation – the construction of an institutional apparatus and political operation that can compete with Labour and the Conservatives long into the future.
It is undoubtedly a curiosity that Farage’s strategy for destroying the Tories involves accepting their stragglers. Whatever the case, Farage’s current band of defectors suggests he has not been overly selective in discriminating between possible political assets and potential liabilities.
Storytelling has long been Farage’s preferred medium of political communication. He has proved uniquely effective in this regard. But the challenge for Reform in 2026 will be to step beyond the burden imposed by its brand of populist politics, which demands sometimes vacuous contributions to the national conversation or its own political development.
Defections are not a strategy for inspiring a sense of political seriousness. Farage will not be able to defect the Tories into submission. At this juncture, the risk for Farage is that his gets expose a lack of substance – rather than demonstrate strength.
Josh Self is editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here and X here.
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