Romford MP Andrew Rosindell has become the latest Conservative to defect to Reform UK, joining a growing list of high-profile defectors in just four days. The 59-year-old, who has been an MP since 2001, cited opposition to the UK's handover of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as his main reason for leaving.
Rosindell had previously served as shadow Foreign Office minister under Kemi Badenoch, but claimed that the Conservative party had not properly opposed the plan. His departure is seen as a blow to the Tories, who now have seven MPs in Reform UK.
The issue at hand revolves around the Chagos Islands, which were removed from British control in 1971 to make way for a US airbase on Diego Garcia. Rosindell has been an advocate for the rights of the Chagossian people, who were forcibly displaced by the British and American governments.
In a scathing attack on his former party, Rosindell stated that Labour and Conservative politicians had "been complicit in the surrender of this sovereign British territory to a foreign power." He accused the party of being "irreparably bound" to past mistakes and unwilling to take accountability for their decisions.
Rosindell's defection follows that of Robert Jenrick, who left the Tories on Thursday after months of secret talks with Nigel Farage. The former cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi also defected last month.
Farage welcomed Rosindell into Reform UK, calling him a "great patriot" and saying that his departure from the Conservatives was due to "the Tory party's lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos Islands betrayal." With this defection, Reform UK now has seven MPs, and Farage announced that he will extend the deadline for other defectors to join the party until May 7th.
Rosindell had previously served as shadow Foreign Office minister under Kemi Badenoch, but claimed that the Conservative party had not properly opposed the plan. His departure is seen as a blow to the Tories, who now have seven MPs in Reform UK.
The issue at hand revolves around the Chagos Islands, which were removed from British control in 1971 to make way for a US airbase on Diego Garcia. Rosindell has been an advocate for the rights of the Chagossian people, who were forcibly displaced by the British and American governments.
In a scathing attack on his former party, Rosindell stated that Labour and Conservative politicians had "been complicit in the surrender of this sovereign British territory to a foreign power." He accused the party of being "irreparably bound" to past mistakes and unwilling to take accountability for their decisions.
Rosindell's defection follows that of Robert Jenrick, who left the Tories on Thursday after months of secret talks with Nigel Farage. The former cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi also defected last month.
Farage welcomed Rosindell into Reform UK, calling him a "great patriot" and saying that his departure from the Conservatives was due to "the Tory party's lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos Islands betrayal." With this defection, Reform UK now has seven MPs, and Farage announced that he will extend the deadline for other defectors to join the party until May 7th.
just great, another bunch of politicians who can't even get it right on their own 
. Rosindell's defection is no surprise, tbh - he was always a bit of a thorn in the Conservative party's side 
. I mean, who needs to be part of a party that's just going to blindly follow whatever the powers that be tell them to do? 
. Farage's welcome speech was just dripping with hypocrisy 
, but hey, at least he's consistent 
. What really gets me is how these politicians think they're doing the right thing by sticking up for the Chagossian people 
, when in reality it's all just a bit of a PR stunt 
. Still, I guess you have to give Rosindell points for being consistent in his criticism of the Conservative party 
... i feel bad for him tho, he's been an MP since 2001! 
anyway, it's kinda weird how politicians switch sides over some issue like this... personally, i don't think we should just hand over our sovereignty to another country lol what about all those people affected by the Chagos Islands thing? 
it's crazy that Rosindell feels the party hasn't been doing enough for them. Reform UK is gaining some big names though, but will it really make a difference in the long run? 
. I mean, Andrew Rosindell's departure from the Conservatives is actually kinda awesome, though 
But it also shows how broken the system can be when you're not willing to hold people accountable... I'm still waiting to see if Reform UK's actions will actually live up to their words 
. We need more nuanced conversations like this, where we can really dig into the issues and try to find common ground...
The way Rosindell is speaking out about the Chagos Islands issue is super passionate, but at the same time it's kinda worrying that a whole bunch of MPs are leaving one party for another? 
nige farage is geniuse by the way bringing back his old mates and all
. but for real though, its time someone called out those in power for their hypocrisy. Farage is killing it with his "great patriot" vibes btw 
, Reform UK needs more people like Rosindell who actually care about what they're voting for. its about time the Tories got a wake-up call 
The Chagos Islands issue is such a clear-cut case, and for them to be so hands-off about it is just embarrassing. It's good that Rosindell's speaking out for what he believes in, even if it means leaving the party behind. 
Reform UK might actually be on to something with Farage at the helm...
. Ugh, my brain is all over the place 
. and then there's the fact that rosindell felt he couldn't trust his own party to stand up for the rights of the chagossian people 
. it's a tough conversation to have, but i think we need to be questioning our systems and leaders more often 