FORMER Conservative chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK, with party leader Nigel Farage announcing the move at a press conference on Monday.
Zahawi, a former Conservative MP, served as chancellor for two months under Boris Johnson and was a government minister from 2018 to 2023.
He said the UK had reached a “dark and dangerous” moment and that the country needed “a glorious revolution”, setting out his reasons for joining Reform UK.
Speaking to party supporters, Zahawi cited concerns about free speech “on X or even just down the pub”, and said people trying to earn a living “without getting ground into the dirt” by taxes were among the reasons for his decision.
He is the most senior former Conservative MP to have joined Reform UK. During his time in government, he also served as education secretary, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and chairman of the Conservative Party.
Zahawi was sacked from that final role by Rishi Sunak in January 2023 after the prime minister’s independent ethics adviser found he had broken ministerial rules by failing to disclose that his tax affairs were under investigation by HMRC.
Asked by the BBC about being sacked over his tax affairs, Zahawi said: “The mistake I made was not to be specific about my declarations to the Cabinet Office.
“I absolutely think that politicians should be held to a higher level of accountability, but I shouldn’t be precluded from doing the right thing by my country.”
Zahawi stood to succeed Johnson as prime minister in 2022 but secured the backing of 25 MPs and was eliminated in the first round of the contest won by Liz Truss.
