The defection of Boris Johnson ally Marco Longhi to Reform UK represents something much bigger than the actions of an unhappy former MP

Nigel Farage's Reform UK could be bigger than the Conservative Party and Labour in the Commons, polling suggests.

A former Conservative MP has defected to Reform UK. During the Reform UK East Midlands Conference in Leicester, party leader Nigel Farage introduced Marco Longhi to the stage as "a loyal member of the Conservative Party for the last goodness knows how many years".

The latest defection to Reform Marco Longhi has suggested that if Elon Musk's potential donation to the populist party becomes a contentious issue, broader questions must be raised about political funding in Britain.