Nigel Farage has announced the latest Tory defection in a shocking blow to Kemi Badenoch.
Just weeks after Badenoch became the leader of the Conservative Party, former Tory Minister Andrea Jenkyns jumped the "sinking" ship to join Reform UK.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Farage said: “Now we said that, when we hit 100,000 members, the lucky winner would go out for a pint for Lee Anderson. Now I fear that was deeply inaccurate. The use of the singular strikes me as being very unlikely with Lee.
“And by sheer coincidence the 100,000th member happens to be a former Conservative Member of Parliament.
Nigel Farage welcomed former Tory minister Andrea Jenkyns as the latest to defect to Reform UK
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"Who would believe that? Isn’t that extraordinary that it’s worked out that way?"
After Farage dealt the shocking blow to Badenoch's Tories, Andrea Jenkyns took to the stage to explain why she has joined Reform and will stand as the populist party's candidate to become Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
"Reform UK is surging and membership is soaring. We will be ready to challenge the tired two-party system and we will deliver the fresh start this country so desperately needs," she said.
Although leaving the Tories was "not an easy decision", she said that she "fought to the bitter end" at the latest General Election, which marked a historic loss for the Conservatives.
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She added: “But the truth is undeniable: the ship is sinking and perhaps, sadly, beyond salvage but enough is enough. It is time to step aboard a movement with vision and purpose and the courage to fight for Britain’s future.”
Turning to Reform UK, she said: "We need those patriotic bravehearts to be a true voice for the people and Reform is that voice."
She claimed that the nation is "at a crisis point", condemning Labour's decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, the farmers' tax raid, as well as the end of Winter Fuel Payments for 10 million pensioners.
Revealing that she was "tempted" to leave the Conservatives before the election, the Boris Johnson ally said: "I might not be loyal to Prime Ministers, as we've seen in the past, but I'm loyal to parties, and I believed, as I said, in going down with that ship fighting.
Turning to Reform, she said that "we need those patriotic bravehearts to be a true voice for the people and Reform is that voice"
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"I was elected as a Conservative, and I got knocked out as a Conservative, but I feel, unfortunately, the party has become tired."
Jenkyns was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 under David Cameron, defeating the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls to become MP for Morley & Outwood.
Following Johnson's resignation as Prime Minister in 2022, Jenkyns served as Education Minister until after Truss left Downing Street.
At the General Election, Jenkyns lost her constituency seat but attracted headlines during the preceding campaign when she distributed leaflets with an image of her and Nigel Farage printed on the front.
