'Feels Like I've Come Home': Indian-Origin Ex-Minister Suella Braverman Defects To Reform UK Party

Last Updated:January 26, 2026, 20:41 IST

Suella Braverman has been the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville in Hampshire since 2015.

Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK

Indian-origin former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has left the Conservative Party and joined Reform UK, becoming the latest Tory MP to defect. Braverman announced her move at a Reform UK event in London, where she was introduced by party leader Nigel Farage. 

Speaking to an audience of military veterans, she said, “I feel like I’ve come home." She confirmed she had resigned the Conservative whip and was joining Reform UK.

She also said she had ended her 30-year membership of the Conservative Party.

Braverman’s political career

Braverman has been the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville in Hampshire since 2015. She served as attorney general under Boris Johnson and later became home secretary under Liz Truss in September 2022.

She resigned from the role a month later after sending an official document to a colleague using her personal email. Rishi Sunak reappointed her six days later when he became prime minister, but sacked her the following year over an article accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias in policing pro-Palestinian protests.

Reform UK gains another MP

Braverman is now Reform UK’s eighth MP. She is the third sitting Conservative MP to defect to Nigel Farage’s party in the past eleven days, following Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell. Jenrick, who also served in the Home Office, defected on 15 January.

Although her defection had been widely expected, the timing surprised many. Farage revealed her move during the launch of a new Reform group for military veterans.

At the rally, Braverman said Britain was “broken" and that immigration was “out of control". She told supporters the country faced a choice between “managed decline" or fixing Britain, reclaiming power and rediscovering strength.

Conservative Party response

The Conservative Party said Braverman’s move was “always a matter of when, not if", adding that she was clearly unhappy. A party spokesman said some MPs serve for their communities, while others act out of personal ambition.

The spokesman also noted that Braverman finished sixth in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest and failed to secure enough support to stand again in 2024. He added that Nigel Farage had previously said he did not want her in Reform UK.

News world 'Feels Like I've Come Home': Indian-Origin Ex-UK Minister Suella Braverman Defects To Reform

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