Tory ‘has been’ Zahawi defects to Reform after comparing Farage to Goebbels
The Daily T
The Telegraph
4.1 • 706 Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Reform's latest defector is former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.
Camilla and Tim reflect on the reasons behind Zahawi’s defection, whether welcoming yet another Tory could backfire for Reform, and ask the man himself whether he is a “has-been”, as his old party has been quick to suggest.
They’re also joined by British-Iranian actor and comedian Omid Djalili, who’s been closely following the protests in Iran that could topple the regime. He says Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela have accelerated the end of Khamenei’s brutal regime.
Read Camilla's column: Defect to Reform or shadow chancellor: What next on Jenrick’s long march Rightwards?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Telegraph. |
| 0:09.8 | He once compared Nigel Farage to Gerbils. |
| 0:13.0 | Now, Adim Zahawi has joined his party. |
| 0:16.1 | Has reform become a retirement home for Tory has-beens? |
| 0:19.9 | And who will be next to cross the floor? |
| 0:22.0 | And we speak to the British Iranian comic Ahmed Jalili about the crisis in Iran. |
| 0:27.4 | Welcome to The Daily Tea with me, Camilla Tomini. |
| 0:29.8 | And me, Tim Stanley. |
| 0:55.4 | Tim? Tim, did you anticipate that of all the Tories that could be unveiled at the Reform press conference today, still got the wristband on to prove it, gold this time, moving on from fluorescent colours, would be Nadim Zahawi. |
| 0:57.1 | No, well, after reading your column, I thought it would be Rob Jennerick. Yeah, do you think I've copped that up a bit? Look, I'm glad... I think you've pushed him further back into the closet. Can I just... He's in Narnia now when it comes to defections. Can I just say that obviously I'm glad I wrote about the theme of Tory defections to reform because there's a lot in the water right now, there's a lot in the air, there's a lot of rumours abound, but maybe I did look a bit silly that I got the wrong Tory. |
| 1:22.1 | Well, let's listen to Nadim Zahawi explaining why he done it. |
| 1:25.4 | We can all see that our beautiful, ancient, kind, magical island story |
| 1:31.3 | has reached a dark and dangerous chapter. |
| 1:35.3 | Things may feel like they're ticking along just fine |
| 1:40.3 | within a few square miles of where we stand today. |
| 1:45.0 | But in so much of the rest of the country, |
| 1:49.0 | the sickness is no surprise to anyone. |
| 1:52.0 | To anyone trying to get a doctor's appointment. |
| 1:56.0 | To anyone who wants to express an opinion, |
| 1:59.0 | whether on X or even just down the pub, to anyone who |
| 2:04.4 | wants their children to be taught facts, not harmful fictions at school, to anyone just trying |
| 2:12.3 | to earn a living and not get crushed into the dirt by ever-growing taxes. Even if you don't yet realize |
... |
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