Former Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry defects to Farage's Reform UK

Sir Jake Berry, a former leading Conservative, has announced that he has defected to Reform UK – in the latest move by a senior Tory to Nigel Farage’s party.

Sir Jake, who served as Tory chairman in Liz Truss’ short-lived government, said his former party had “lost their way” as he left the Conservatives.

Speaking to the Sun newspaper, the new Reform member added: “Old Westminster politics has failed.

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“Millions of people, just like me, want a country they can be proud of again. The only way we get that is with Reform in government.”

Sir Jake is the second former Cabinet minister in a week to join Reform, after ex-Welsh secretary David Jones announced he enrolled as a member.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Not content with taking advice from Liz Truss, Nigel Farage has now tempted her Tory Party Chairman into his ranks.

"It’s clear Farage wants Liz Truss’s reckless economics, which crashed our economy and sent mortgages spiralling, to be Reform’s blueprint for Britain. It’s a recipe for disaster and working people would be left paying the price.”