Tory Manchester Mayoral Candidate Defects To Reform Party

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

Dan Barker, a Conservative activist from Sale, was selected as the Tory candidate in December 2023. The Reform Party confirmed Barker will now stand as its candidate in the Manchester Mayoral election which will take place on 2 May. 

A source close to the Greater Manchester Conservatives said Barker had not been meeting the “criteria” they expected of him.

New polling released by YouGov on Thursday morning showed the Tories support had fallen below 20 per cent for the first time since Rishi Sunak took over as Prime Minister, with 44 per cent of respondents saying they intended to vote Labour. Reform was at 14 per cent and are only five points behind the party in the opinion polls.