Jack Walters
Guest Reporter
Tory mega-donor Nick Candy has joined Reform UK as the populist party's Treasurer ahead of the 2025 Local Elections.
Candy, 51, whose wife Holly Valance flirted with standing for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election, was named as Nigel Farage's latest coup from the Conservatives just days after Tim Montgomerie and Dame Andrea Jenkyns were welcomed to the populist party's fold.
The property tycoon joined the Tory Party in 2009 and donated more than £270,000 to the Conservatives between 2020 and 2022 alone.
However, Farage will hope Candy's cash-raising prowess will help propel Reform UK into upcoming elections and beyond.
Candy said: "I have today resigned my membership of the Conservative Party after many years of active support and substantial donations to the party.
"I am sorry to say there have been too many broken promises and a complete breach of trust with the wealth creators in our country.
"Nigel Farage is a close personal friend of mine, and Reform UK represents the future of British politics.
"I am pleased to announce that I will now become the Treasurer for Reform UK and intend to raise enough funds for them to win the next general election. I will take up the role in the new year."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Welcoming Reform UK's latest high-profile member, Farage added: "I warmly welcome this decision. We are the fastest-growing movement in British politics today, and Nick's efforts will help Reform UK transform our country."
Reform UK appears to have a trickle of ex-Tories joining in recent days, with former Home Secretary Suella Braverman's husband Rael cutting ties with the Conservative Party over the weekend.
Despite reportedly engaging in talks with Farage, Braverman is keen to stress she will not follow her husband to Reform UK.
She said: “My husband and I have a healthy respect for each other’s independence – he doesn’t tell me how to do my job, and I don’t tell him how to pick a political party.”
Announcing his decision online, Braverman's husband said: "I have left the Conservative Party because it has become a shadow of what it once stood for.
"Its incompetence and failure to deliver have betrayed the trust of the British people.
"I deeply regret that it has come to this, as there are still a handful of decent MPs trying to do the right thing.
"I believe in politics driven by conviction and a genuine commitment to serving our nation, not by empty promises and mismanagement."
The latest wave of Tory defections comes after a Find Out Now opinion poll put Reform UK on 24 per cent, just two-points behind the Tories and one-point ahead of Labour.
Such a situation would likely see Reform UK pick up 95 seats, vastly improving on the populist party's 2024 General Election performance.
Candy's inclusion appears to come as part of Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf's bid to professionalise the party ahead of the 2025 Local Elections.
Reform UK hopes to mobilise activists and bolster its coffers to compete with established parties at the ballot box next May and beyond.
Find Out More...
Candy, 51, whose wife Holly Valance flirted with standing for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election, was named as Nigel Farage's latest coup from the Conservatives just days after Tim Montgomerie and Dame Andrea Jenkyns were welcomed to the populist party's fold.
The property tycoon joined the Tory Party in 2009 and donated more than £270,000 to the Conservatives between 2020 and 2022 alone.
However, Farage will hope Candy's cash-raising prowess will help propel Reform UK into upcoming elections and beyond.
Candy said: "I have today resigned my membership of the Conservative Party after many years of active support and substantial donations to the party.
"I am sorry to say there have been too many broken promises and a complete breach of trust with the wealth creators in our country.
"Nigel Farage is a close personal friend of mine, and Reform UK represents the future of British politics.
"I am pleased to announce that I will now become the Treasurer for Reform UK and intend to raise enough funds for them to win the next general election. I will take up the role in the new year."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Lee Anderson vows to strip BBC of funding after repeatedly mocking Reform
- ‘Huge coup!’ Suella Braverman joining Reform ranks ‘would solve key problem’ for Nigel Farage
- Suella Braverman's husband joins Reform in latest defection coup for Nigel Farage's party
Welcoming Reform UK's latest high-profile member, Farage added: "I warmly welcome this decision. We are the fastest-growing movement in British politics today, and Nick's efforts will help Reform UK transform our country."
Reform UK appears to have a trickle of ex-Tories joining in recent days, with former Home Secretary Suella Braverman's husband Rael cutting ties with the Conservative Party over the weekend.
Despite reportedly engaging in talks with Farage, Braverman is keen to stress she will not follow her husband to Reform UK.
She said: “My husband and I have a healthy respect for each other’s independence – he doesn’t tell me how to do my job, and I don’t tell him how to pick a political party.”
Announcing his decision online, Braverman's husband said: "I have left the Conservative Party because it has become a shadow of what it once stood for.
"Its incompetence and failure to deliver have betrayed the trust of the British people.
"I deeply regret that it has come to this, as there are still a handful of decent MPs trying to do the right thing.
"I believe in politics driven by conviction and a genuine commitment to serving our nation, not by empty promises and mismanagement."
The latest wave of Tory defections comes after a Find Out Now opinion poll put Reform UK on 24 per cent, just two-points behind the Tories and one-point ahead of Labour.
Such a situation would likely see Reform UK pick up 95 seats, vastly improving on the populist party's 2024 General Election performance.
Candy's inclusion appears to come as part of Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf's bid to professionalise the party ahead of the 2025 Local Elections.
Reform UK hopes to mobilise activists and bolster its coffers to compete with established parties at the ballot box next May and beyond.
Find Out More...