Nigel Farage is today celebrating another defection from the Conservative Party as a former Tory MP who was in Parliament for 19 years announced he was joining Reform. Ex-Grenadier Guard Adam Holloway said he was joining Reform because they understood “the scale of the national peril” facing the United Kingdom.
And he said: “I joined the Army to serve the country, not the institution. The same applies now. If we want to rescue Britain, we must be honest about who’s still willing to fight for her.” He was a senior Government whip, giving him inside knowledge about how government works, and also served on the Defence, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Select Committees.
Mr Holloway spent part of a gap year with the Afghan Resistance during the Soviet-Afghan War, after which he attended Cambridge University to study Social and Political Sciences and then Imperial College London for his MBA.
He served in the British Army’s Grenadier Guards in 1987 for five years after attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The ex-MP then had a career as an investigative journalist and reporter for ITN and ITV, including during the siege of Sarajevo.
During his career he spent three months homeless on the streets of London to create an award-winning programme, posed as a Bosnian Muslim to experience people smuggling first-hand, lived in a refugee camp in Calais posing as an economic migrant and was the lead investigator on a project that exposed a Filipino child prostitution ring.
Mr Holloway represented the Gravesham constituency from 2005 to 2024 and served as a senior Government Whip. He
He said: “There comes a moment for many soldiers — and most politicians — when you realise the battle you think you’re fighting isn’t the one your leaders are waging. Many in Britain feel we may already have passed the point of no return. Our cities grow less cohesive, the country effectively bankrupt.
“That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right. The difference is the Reform leadership and voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP said: “I’m delighted to welcome Adam Hollway to Reform UK. His bold move shows that we are the only serious option in Kent and is testament to the fantastic work our councillors are delivering across the region.
“Adam’s parliamentary and military experience will be vital as we look forward to the next general election.”
Other former Tories who have joined Reform include Lee Anderson, previously a Conservative MP and now a Reform MP, Andrea Jenkyns, who was a Conservative MP and is now a Reform mayor, former Conservative chair Sir Jake Berry, councillor Laila Cunningham and member of the Welsh Senedd Laura Anne Jones.