Still reeling from her party losing 45% of the council seats it was defending last week, Kemi Badenoch has more panic ahead as a trio of top Tories could cross the floor and defect to Reform UK. After her heavy local election losses, which saw Nigel Farage’s party gain a foothold after seizing hundreds of seats, the Tory leader needs the support of her party more than ever.

However, three longstanding Tories are said to be open to having their head turned to defect over to Reform following the party’s dramatic surge in popularity. A string of Tories have already crossed over to side with Mr Farage including Reform UK’s first mayor, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who even hit back at the Conservatives during her acceptance speech by accusing them of carrying out a smear campaign against her.

Ashfield MP Lee Anderson kickstarted the trend last year when the ex-Conservative Party deputy chairman chose to join Reform after refusing to apologise for claims Islamists had "control" of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Over 60 Reform UK candidates in the 2025 Local Elections had also previously been card-carrying Conservatives, demonstrating Mr Farage’s ability to turn people to his side.

As Mr Farage’s crusade continues, there are three Tories who could be one step closer to ditching the Conservatives after their harrowing local election night.

Suella Braverman

Speculation has been rife for a long time over whether the former Home Secretary would defect to Reform.

Previously admitting to The Telegraph that she does “like Nigel Farage” and there “isn’t space in British politics for two conservative parties” she has refused to rule out defecting to Reform UK from the Conservatives.

Despite Ms Badenoch arranging Ms Braverman's hen do in 2018, the pair were locked in a bitter feud during the 2024 Tory Party leadership race.

Sir Edward Leigh

The senior Tory MP, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 1983, has continued to defy Ms Badenoch by demanding a closer relationship with Mr Farage.

The Father of the House even suggested the Reform leader should join the Conservative Party. He previously said that he “absolutely would welcome” Mr Farage in.

Sir Edward said: "We've got to, I think, invite Reform voters and Farage to join us.”

When asked if Ms Badenoch would lead the Tories into the next General Election, Mr Leigh said: “I have no idea. I wish her well. But I have to say going back in history we did burn through three leaders after we lost badly in 1997 before we got to one who won."

Jack Rankin

Aged just 32, this fresh-faced Tory has previously said that “The Conservatives must win back younger voters”.

He raised eyebrows last year when he signed ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe's motion on mass deportation of illegal migrants.

Writing for Conservative Home shortly after being elected, Rankin said: "The truth is staring us all in the face – we had the reasons shouted at us over and over again on the doorsteps during many brutal months of campaigning. We lost because we repeatedly failed to deliver what we promised in 2019.

"We said that we would secure our borders and cut immigration, and we did the opposite".