Nigel Farage has secured his latest defection from the Conservative Party, with ex-Tory MP Adam Holloway announcing he has become a member of Reform UK.
The Reform leader will welcome Mr Holloway, a 60-year-old ex-army officer who was MP for Gravesham until July last year when he lost his seat to Labour, as the latest in a line of defectors from the Tories.
He follows ex-Tory colleagues in parliament Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Lee Anderson, Marco Longhi and Sir Jake Berry to jump ship to Mr Farage’s party.
Speaking as his defection was announced, Mr Holloway said: “There comes a moment for many soldiers — and most politicians — when you realise the battle you think you’re fighting isn’t the one your leaders are waging. Many in Britain feel we may already have passed the point of no return. Our cities grow less cohesive, the country effectively bankrupt.
“That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right. The difference is the Reform leadership and voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it.
“I joined the Army to serve the country, not the institution. The same applies now. If we want to rescue Britain, we must be honest about who’s still willing to fight for her.”
Mr Holloway was the Conservative MP for Gravesham from 2005 until last year’s general election. He was briefly an assistant government whip in 2022 and held roles on the Home Affairs Committee and European Scrutiny Committee. He was replaced by Labour’s Dr Lauren Sullivan at the election, losing his seat by 2,712 votes.
During his time as a Tory MP, Mr Holloway was a vocal backer of his ex-colleagues Charlie Elphicke and Imran Khan, both of whom were convicted of sexual offences.
Mr Holloway was found by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to have attempted to improperly influence judicial proceedings in attempting to have a judge block pre-sentencing character testimonies.
Previously Mr Holloway was found by the sleaze watchdog to have breached MPs’ rules by failing to register two rental properties and not declaring a payment and the source of a trip he took.
Mr Holloway has also been asked to repay £1,000 after he tried to claim council tax on his parliamentary expenses twice.
Mr Farage told The Spectator: “Adam’s parliamentary and military experience will be vital as we look forward to the next general election”.
The Reform leader added that Mr Holloway’s “bold move shows that we are the only serious option in Kent and is testament to the fantastic work our councillors are delivering across the region”.
The ex-MP’s defection to Reform comes as Mr Farage seeks to show his insurgent right-wing party is not running out of steam after a recent surge in the polls.
There have been no defections of sitting MPs to Reform since Lee Anderson joined the party in March 2024. Those who have defected have typically done so after losing their seats fighting as Conservatives in the general election.
In parliament, Mr Holloway voted against conducting air strikes on ISIS in 2014 after visiting the border with the Islamic State, and abstained on a vote for air strikes in 2015.
In 2008, Adam Holloway accepted a trip to Syria and Lebanon from an organisation that described its aim as to engage with terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in order to “facilitate dialogue between political Islam and the West”.
The Conservative Party declined to comment on the defection.
