Tory MP and shadow minister Danny Kruger defects to Reform3 hours ago Share Save Jennifer McKiernan political reporter Share Save"I don't accept that I'm simply jumping ship to save my skin", says Danny KrugerConservative MP Danny Kruger has become the first sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK. Kruger has been an MP since 2019, and sat on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's team as a shadow work and pensions minister. "The Conservatives are over," he told a press conference, sitting alongside Reform party leader Nigel Farage. He said: "There have been moments when I have been very proud to belong to the Tory party", but added: "The rule of our time in office was failure. Lee Anderson, who was previously a Tory MP, sat as an independent before joining Reform in 2024.