The Conservative candidate for the Greater Manchester mayoral election has defected to join the Reform Party.

Dan Barker wrote in a post on

Mr Barker, a Conservative activist from Sale, was selected as the Conservative candidate in December 2023.

The Reform Party confirmed that Barker will now stand as its candidate in the Manchester mayoral election to be held on 2 May.

The party said in a statement: “The Reform Party is delighted to have Dan Barker join us. He is an excellent candidate and will be a great representative for Reform and Manchester.

“He knows that today, if you believe in the future of this city and this country, then reform is about the future, just as Conservatives are about the past.”

Ten days after Lee Anderson joined the right-wing populist Reform UK party after he was suspended for making Islamophobic comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the party has announced its latest membership.

Mr Anderson, a former Conservative Party deputy leader, confirmed the move and launched a scathing attack on the Conservatives.

“All I want is my country back,” he said at the time. Now, that may sound offensive to liberal elites.

“But that’s no offense to my friends or family, my constituents and some of my constituents, like my parents, who told me they couldn’t vote for me unless I joined Reform Britain.”

Reform UK was founded in November 2018 with the support of Mr Farage as the Brexit Party. The party was initially led by co-founder Catherine Blaiklock, who resigned in March 2019 following a row over Islamophobic comments she tweeted.

Shortly after taking office, Mr Farage claimed Ms Blacklock “was never intended to be a long-term leader” and dismissed the issue as a “teething issue”.

Reform Britain’s slogan is “Make Britain Great” and its key policies include tightening immigration controls, lowering taxes, cutting NHS waiting lists and reforming the BBC and the House of Lords.

The party has also called for an overhaul of the government’s net zero plans, calling it “net stupidity”.