Suella, Jacob, even Liz? Inside Reform’s unofficial plan to bag a Tory big beast

Officially, the party says there is no mission to court Conservative defectors, but insiders suggest otherwise, and warn against the dangers of doing so

At last year's GB News Christmas party, Suella Braverman was the centre of attention. The former home secretary is popular in rightwing media circles, but it wasn't her straight-talking brand of conservatism that was topic of the evening, rather it was the growing whispers about what some thought was her imminent defection to Reform UK.

It was like a panto - everyone saying: Oh yes you will', and her saying: Oh no, I won't'," says one Reform party guest. We all thought she was just biding her time until the right moment."