When an MP defects, it means that they leave their original party to join another or become an independent. With Reform UK leading in the polls, many Tory MPs feel like the Conservative Party is getting pushed out of electoral relevancy. In the 2024 general election, the Conservative Party suffered their worst ever electoral defeat, winning just 121 seats. This number has since decreased, with several MPs abandoning the party by defecting to Reform. For so long, the two party system has ensured electoral success only for the Labour and conservative Parties. However, with the declining popularity of the two main parties, many believe that the two party system is fragmenting.

The past week reinforced this as the Conservative Party was hit with several defections. On Sunday, the MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, became the latest Tory to defect to Reform. He stated that Reform UK is “ the only political movement that is genuinely willing to fight for the best interests of the United Kingdom”, and said that he now believes “the Conservative Party is irreparably bound to the mistakes of previous governments and unwilling to take meaningful accountability for the poor decisions made over so many issues”.

This move came after Robert Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary and main rival to Kemi Badenoch in the conservative leadership contest, dramatically defected to Reform on Thursday. Jenrick became the most senior Tory MP so far to switch allegiances. Jenrick was unable to announce his defection in the way he had hoped. This is because, earlier in the day, Kemi Badenoch suspended him from the party and removed the Conservative whip after finding “irrefutable evidence” that he was planning to defect. Jenrick became the most senior Tory MP so far to switch allegiances.

Prior to Jenrick’s defection, on Monday 12 January, Nadhim Zahawi, the former Tory chancellor was the most senior MP to have switched allegiances. Despite criticising Nigel Farage in the past, Mr Zahawi said: “I’ve made my mind up that the team that will deliver for this nation will be the team that Nigel will put together and that’s why I’ve decided that I’m joining Reform.” These events have raised questions about the future of the Conservative party. This is because, if more MPs defect to Reform UK, then Reform UK may take the mantle as the main centre right party in British politics, putting an end to the two party system.

They have also sparked debate about the wider consequences of political defection. This is because the act of defecting contradicts democratic ideals, as it violates the mandate upon which the defector was elected and betrays the will of the voter. During their campaign they would have promoted party policies and ideas. Ideally, when an MP decides that they want to defect to another political party, a by-election should be automatically triggered to allow the constituents the opportunity to have their democratic right to agree or not with their elected official. It should go both ways. However, there is no rule forcing them to. There is currently a petition, with over 100,000 signatures, for this very issue to be debated in Parliament. 

Those who oppose this idea point to the way our electoral system works. In theory, at a general election, the electorate votes for an individual, not a political party, to be elected as a member of parliament to represent their constituency. Therefore, individual MPs should be free to develop their own arguments once elected, until it is time to face the voters in the next general election. As Edmund Burke argued, members of parliament are a representative of their constituency, rather than a delegate of a particular party. However, in practice, most of the electorate votes for a political party. Typically they vote for or against the two main political parties. The nature of the two party system forces people to vote tactically for the party they would rather see form government. They form this decision based on the main policies of each party.

Therefore, it isn’t really fair for an MP to suddenly switch allegiances during a parliamentary term when they would have been elected on a different policy platform from the one they later choose to support. An X post from 2019 shows that Reform UK, who now benefit from these defections, used to hold the same opinion.

In 2019, the Reform UK X account posted “We need a complete political reform. Voters should be able to use the existing recall system to force by-elections on MPs who change parties mid-parliament.” As it is no longer to their benefit, Reform UK seems to have abandoned this belief. However, in order to ensure accountability and representation are sufficiently upheld, it is imperative that this issue is more widely discussed and considered by Parliament.

This is a political debate that will not go away. As the petition circulating online has reached 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate. Ultimately, in a system where party identity plays a pivotal role in shaping the outcomes of elections, sudden changes in party loyalty can be seen as breaching the trust of the electorate and undermining the principle that political power should derive from the informed consent of the electorate.