By William James
LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Former British finance minister Nadhim Zahawi defected to Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party from the Conservative Party on Monday, saying the country was broken and needed Farage as prime minister to fix it.
Zahawi, who had a short spell in charge of the nation's finances under former prime minister Boris Johnson in 2022, becomes the latest in a long line of former Conservatives to switch to Farage's populist Reform UK.
Reform is currently leading the polls in Britain, far ahead of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party, which has struggled to translate its landslide 2024 election win into popular change, against a backdrop of constrained finances and global instability.
"Britain needs Nigel Farage as prime minister," Zahawi told a press conference announcing his defection. "Even if you don't yet realize that Britain needs Reform, you know in your heart of hearts that our wonderful country is sick."
Zahawi is not currently a member of parliament after deciding not stand at the 2024 national election. Britain's next election is not due until 2029.
Farage's party has five of 650 seats in parliament, but Reform's surging popularity has come from tapping into public frustration over issues like immigration, crime and a perceived fall in the standard of public services.
Zahawi, in addition to a two-month stint as finance minister during a chaotic period for the Conservative Party, served in other senior party roles and was credited with driving British efforts to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine.
He was later sacked as chairman of the party by its then-leader Rishi Sunak after an investigation found he committed a serious breach by not being open about a tax probe.
"Reform is fast becoming the party of has-been politicians looking for their next gravy train," a Conservative Party spokesman said in a statement.
(Reporting by William James; editing by Michael Holden)
