Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Justine Greening

With Suella Braverman’s defection to Reform, the Conservative party’s rejuvenation begins today

Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick at a Reform UK press conference in London on 26 January 2026.
Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick at a Reform UK press conference in London on 26 January 2026. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters

At a time of bleak headlines, there was at least some good news for Conservatives earlier today: Suella Braverman has finally left the party. As with the defection of Robert Jenrick earlier this month, the continued “self-purge” of the “out-Reform Reform” brigade can only help the electoral fortunes of the Conservative party. As I said in a previous article, “wreckers like Braverman are why the public don’t like us”.

For those of us who have long pointed out the utter failure of their strategy, it’s schadenfreude to see them leave a ship they themselves so effectively torpedoed. Reform UK is welcome to them. I suspect Nigel Farage will rue the day they came on board. Many Conservatives will hope they have the same record of failure at their new party as they did at their last.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.