He seems to have forgotten that he’s no anti-establishment outsider, having been a Tory MP and a member of a party which failed the country for 14 years.
Danny Kruger has become the first sitting Tory MP to defect to Reform UK, and tried to portray himself as anti-establishment in the process, for which he has rightly been mocked.
Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire, who was elected in 2019, has been a shadow work and pensions minister under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.
Announcing his defection, Kruger said: “The Conservative Party is over, over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the Left.
“But I am not despondent because conservatism is not over. It’s never been needed more. And actually, it’s never been more vibrant.
“Because the failure of the Conservative Party has created space for an alternative. The flame is passing from one torch to another.”
Kruger also told a Reform press conference: “If you’ve had enough of politicians, if you don’t trust Westminster, join us.”
He seems to have forgotten that he’s no anti-establishment outsider, having been a Tory MP and a member of a party which failed the country for 14 years. Campaign group Best for Britain wrote on X: “What a revolting, cynical statement for a man who was an MP of the party that ruled for 14 years until five minutes ago – and David Cameron’s speech writer before that.”
Another social media user wrote on X: “Son of a wealthy property development and a television celebrity. Straight into political jobs after Eton and Oxford, then gifted a Tory seat for life. There’s nothing remotely ‘anti-establishment’ about Danny Kruger.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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