London, 19 January (H.S.): Andrew Rosindell, the long-serving Conservative Member of Parliament for Romford and erstwhile shadow foreign affairs minister, dramatically resigned from the Tory ranks and defected to Reform UK on Sunday evening, January 18, 2026, following a pivotal conversation with party leader Nigel Farage.

Catalyst of Chagos Betrayal and Tory Malaise

Rosindell, who joined the Conservatives at age 14 and secured Romford in 2001, lambasted his former party as irreparably bound to the mistakes of previous governments and unwilling to shoulder meaningful accountability for fiscal profligacy and sovereignty lapses.

He singled out the Labour government's Chagos Islands handover to Mauritius—and the Tories' feeble opposition thereto—as a clear red line, accusing both major parties of complicity in ceding British territory to a foreign power.

In an X statement, he decried a generation of managed decline, insisting constituents' pleas in Brexit-voting Romford had been consistently ignored, necessitating radical action to prioritize British interests ahead of the May 7 local elections.

Farage Hails Patriot, Badenoch Shrugs Off Exodus

Farage lauded Rosindell as a great patriot whose defection, precipitated by Tory lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos betrayal, fortifies Reform's roster—elevating its parliamentary contingent to seven MPs, including sitting defectors Danny Kruger and Robert Jenrick, who jumped ship on Thursday, January 15, post-sacking by leader Kemi Badenoch for plotting his exit.

Badenoch framed the departures as Farage's inadvertent spring cleaning, welcoming Reform to Rosindell after years of party support amid his controversies, while vowing focus on Labour accountability. Jenrick had excoriated Tories for breaking Britain; nearly 20 ex-Tory MPs, like Nadhim Zahawi (January 12), have preceded him.

Cross-Party Scorn and Reform's Defector Deadline

Labour chair Anna Turley derided Reform as engulfed by Tory stench, with Farage rehabilitating failures the public rejects. Liberal Democrats dismissed it as a change of rosette for careerists, as Shadow Priti Patel echoed completely wrong sentiments and Reform's Richard Tice critiqued tactics sans objective.Farage clarified Reform eschews being a rescue charity for panicky Tory MPs, halting defections post-May 7 locals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar