Tim Montgomerie, a prominent conservative politician and co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, has announced his defection to Reform UK after 33 years in the Conservative Party.
The 54-year-old, who is also a Christian, described his decision as one made with “sadness and regret” during an interview with Times Radio. He explained that the latest immigration figures were the tipping point.
“The Conservative Party made promise after promise about controlling immigration… and they haven’t delivered,” he said.
For Montgomerie, Reform UK represents “the best party to serve the British people".
When asked if Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, could become Prime Minister, Montgomerie responded: “You can never be sure. I think Nigel has the sort of instincts that has a more durable winning conservative right-to-centre force. His recipe is a much better one than what I’ve heard from Kemi Badenoch or Rishi Sunak.”
Montgomerie’s long history with the Conservative Party includes founding the Conservative Home website and advising Boris Johnson. Reflecting on his political journey during an episode of Premier’s A Mucky Business with Tim Farron in 2022, he shared how his political interest preceded his Christian faith:
“My strongest political memory goes back to when I was 11. The big debate in the United Kingdom at the time was about the stationing of nuclear weapons in Britain. My teacher told me that nuclear weapons were an evil thing. Impressionable young thing that I was, I went home and told my Dad how ashamed I was of him. He was a serving soldier at the time, and we were living in Germany.
“He very patiently introduced me to the idea of nuclear deterrents, and I was persuaded by him. I even complained to my teacher the next day—but that’s another story. I can remember this lady on the television with big hair, a handbag, and a blue suit, who fascinated me. From there on, I became a Conservative.”
Montgomerie also recalled his conversion to Christianity, which took place during a Sunday afternoon meeting of The Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Scripture Readers Association (SASRA).
“At one meeting, John Murray, a Baptist, gave an evangelistic talk centred on the question CS Lewis posed: Who was Jesus? Mad, bad, or the Son of God?" he explained.
“We’re not a particularly demonstrative family—you wouldn’t expect us to go to the front of a hall or anything when a call is made. But we all went forward that day, and I don’t think we’ve ever looked back since."
He also shared how he had once thought he might have to drop politics because of his faith but credited the example of William Wilberforce with inspiring his belief in the power of Christians to make a difference in politics.
“Wilberforce showed me how Christians can be involved in politics and make a difference—not to be so purist that you can’t be used this side of heaven,” he told Farron.