Sitting beside Farage Monday, Zahawi denied that his move was careerist, or that he thought Farage was racist: “If I thought this man sitting next to me in any way had an issue with people of my colour or my background who have come to this country, who have integrated, assimilated, are proud of this country, worked hard in this country, paid millions of pounds in taxes in this country, invested in the country, I wouldn’t be sitting next to him.”
Zahawi was also the U.K. vaccines minister during the Covid-19 pandemic — but deflected what he called “stupid” questions about Aseem Malhotra, an adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who linked the vaccines to cancer in Britain’s royal family while on stage at Reform’s conference in September.
He declined to answer directly whether he had sought assurances from Farage about Reform’s policy on vaccines. Instead, he said: “I would not be sitting here, nor would Nigel be sitting next to me, if we didn’t agree that we did the right thing for the nation to get the vaccine program to the success that it achieved.” Farage praised “centuries” of British work on vaccines but defended the platform given to Malhotra on free speech grounds.
Zahawi said he defected because he had come to the conclusion that the Conservative Party was a “defunct brand” that could no longer form the next government. He insisted he had been given “no promises, at all” about what role he would play — but did not rule out becoming a Reform MP or peer.
He said he began talks with Farage after Nick Candy, the former Tory donor and property tycoon, was recruited as Reform’s treasurer in December 2024, but only let his Tory membership lapse in December 2025.
Labour Party Chair Anna Turley said the defection showed that “Reform UK has no shame. Nadhim Zahawi is a discredited and disgraced politician who will be forever tied to the Tories’ shameful record of failure in government.”