Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has defected to Reform UK after being denied a peerage by the Tories, it has been claimed.
Zahawi, a former MP, cited the need for "a glorious revolution" as a key reason for joining Nigel Farage's party.
But Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative party chairman, said the switch of allegiance only came about after Zahawi made "a number of approaches" to Kemi Badenoch seeking to be nominated for the House of Lords - which were refused.
Zahawi now becomes the most senior of the 20 or so former Conservatives to join Reform, the BBC reports.
Describing Britain as "broken", Zahawi added: "Nothing works, there is no growth, there is crime on our streets, and there is an avalanche of illegal migration that anywhere else in the world would be a national emergency."
He went on: "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."
On Zahawi's push for a peerage, Hollinrake said: "We were very concerned Nadhim's past problems with his tax affairs, which led to his dismissal in the past from a role in the party.
"It was quite clear that we didn't feel Nadhim was the right person to be elevated to the House of Lords."