Tory ex-cabinet minister David Jones joins Reform UK
The former Clwyd West MP described the move as 'a very difficult decision for me' and said he had written to the Conservatives in October to say he would not renew his membership, but received no reply.
David Jones (right) served as deputy chairman of the European Research Group after leaving government (Lucy North/PA)
He said: 'I joined the Conservatives all those years ago because I believed it was the party that best reflected my values and beliefs. Regrettably, that is no longer the case.
'Today, Reform UK is the party that best represents my views – and, I believe, those of many others who have become disillusioned with the two old major parties.'
After losing his cabinet job in the 2014 reshuffle, he went on to become a minister in the Department for Exiting the EU under Theresa May for a year between 2016 and 2017.
He later became deputy chairman of the European Research Group, a Eurosceptic group of Tory MPs.
Mr Jones, who stood down from Parliament last year after 19 years as an MP, said he had no intention of standing for election, and had joined Reform 'as a private individual'.
But as a former cabinet minister, he is the most senior ex-Tory MP to join Reform so far, following Marco Longhi, Anne Marie Morris, Ross Thomson, Aiden Burley and Dame Andrea Jenkyns, now the mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Nigel Farage's Reform UK is targeting the Welsh Senedd elections next year (Ben Birchall/PA)
His defection also comes as Mr Farage's party seeks to make significant gains in next year's elections at the Senedd in Wales, where polls suggest the party is in second or third place.
It is a boost for Reform after a difficult weekend in which one of its five MPs 'removed the party whip from himself' amid allegations about two of his businesses.
James McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, insisted 'all' of his 'business dealings' complied with regulations following claims he improperly borrowed money from the government during the pandemic.
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