How will Zahawi defection go down in former seat?

People in Nadhim Zahawi's former constituency have given mixed views to the BBC about his decision to jump ship to Reform UK.

Stratford-upon-Avon's former Tory MP of 14 years on Monday became the most senior former Conservative to defect to the party.

Zahawi, who was chancellor for two months under Boris Johnson and served as a minister from 2018 to 2023, said he felt the UK had reached a "dark and dangerous" moment, and the country needed "a glorious revolution".

He is one of around 20 former Tory MPs to defect.

Resident James Holland said he felt people needed change because of the current economic climate, citing the cost of living, taxes, and the rate of unemployment.

"I think Reform [is] doing a good job in regard to their initiatives and what their agenda is," Holland said.

"So from that perspective, I think it's maybe a good decision [for Zahawi].

"I think people are losing confidence in Labour at the moment and obviously the Conservatives have been in for a long time."

Others who spoke to the BBC were less positive - one woman said "he's not to be trusted", while another said he was being opportunistic and "just going along with the vote".

The recruitment of a high-profile former Conservative minister appears, at least at first glance, like a political coup.

Nadhim Zahawi certainly has the credentials, years of experience at the highest levels of government, plaudits for his work as vaccines minister during the COVID crisis, and an impressive back story - from child refugee to millionaire and cabinet minister, but Mr Zahawi also comes with baggage.

This is the minister who apologised more than once for what he described as oversights.

He resigned as Chancellor in 2022 after it emerged he had paid £5m to HMRC as part of an agreement following an investigation into his tax affairs.

Then in 2023 he was sacked as Tory chairman after an ethics inquiry found he had failed to disclose that HMRC was investigating his taxes, which was described as "a serious breach of the ministerial code".

Aiden Oakes told the BBC he was a supporter of Reform UK.

"So I think anybody that transfers to that party, there are reasons in my opinion that people are thinking about the future of this country, so I think it's a good thing," he said.

"I think politics, in general, needs a good shaking up. I think we're heading in the wrong direction personally."

"Maybe Reform's the new Conservative," he remarked.

That may be a double-edged sword for Reform UK.

For many voters, one of the party's biggest selling points is its "otherness", and the fact they represent a break from the established parties.

Absorbing increasing numbers of former Conservative MPs could make it much more difficult to hold that line.

Andy O'Sullivan was cynical about Zahawi's move.

"I think he goes for the spotlight," he told the BBC.

"He goes for the easier roles that were already set up.So like when he stepped into the vaccine role, the job was almost already done and he kind of took the glory. He's done it for himself."

O'Sullivan said "if he truly believed in the policies", Zahawi would have had an opportunity to invest it into the Conservatives while they were "down in the ditches".

"It's clear to me that he's just gone somewhere with the headlines," he said.

"I think at the moment they struggle to govern local councils. So it would be really interesting if they have enough votes to make it matter."

Daren Pemberton, the Conservative group leader on Stratford District Council, said: "Nadhim Zahawi's decision to join Reform is self serving and a kick in the teeth for loyal local party members who supported his re-selection in 2023 when every single member of the then Conservative cabinet at the District Council wanted him to step down".

As well as two months as chancellor at the end of Boris Johnson's premiership, Zahawi was education secretary, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and chairman of the Conservative Party.

Of his departure following the ethics investigation, Zahawi told the BBC: "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."

Labour's Anna Turley said Zahawi was "a discredited and disgraced politician" who had previously "repeatedly lambasted his new boss over his divisive and extreme rhetoric".

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