Another big beast defection shows momentum is with Reform
Anyone compiling a list of potential Conservative parties to defect to Reform England would have put Suella Braverman near the top, but this is still a big moment.
Braverman is a former Tory home secretary, a great monster of recent Tory history.
And his change highlights the momentum that Reformation is showing in evacuating the Conservative Party.
He is the fourth Conservative MP to join the party since the last election and the third this month.
The week before last it was Robert Jenrick, the week before it was Andrew Rosunull, now Braverman.
Just as Kemi Badenoch is receiving warm criticism from colleagues, another senior Conservative is breaking away from the pack.
On stage during his departure, Braverman shared Reformation’s diagnosis that Britain was broken, a label the Conservatives avoided using and did not agree with.
Like Jenrick before him, he has delivered a devastating critique of his former party’s recent governing record.
Again, like Jenrick, the government of which he is a part.
He said he had “made time for the betrayal and lies of the Conservative Party”.
I was also amazed at how emotional he was.
I have known Braverman for over 25 years; Being a conservative has always been part of his DNA.
But as of today, it no longer exists. He’s not a capital C conservative anyway. This is a hugely personal moment for him.
The question now for Nigel Farage is how to leverage his growing team and avoid disagreements.
Now the question for Badenoch is: Who can escape next? Can the tide be stopped?
Some think as many as half a dozen more Conservative MPs are weighing taking the step.
For Labor, meanwhile, it’s a chance to reflect on the debates on the right of politics, after all the questions they were asked about the machinations involving the prime minister and Andy Burnham at the weekend.
There is a controlling thought that unites both stories: the primacy of Farage in our national political debate.
Labor is debating whether Burnham is the best bet to beat Reform in the upcoming elections in Gorton and Denton, and whether quitting the Greater Manchester mayoralty would open up that role for Reform.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives are once again considering whether they are close to oblivion.
There are many paths to the rise of Reform UK for both Westminster political megabrands.
