UK Tory MP who defected to Reform advises One Nation in Australian byelection campaign

One Nation has recruited a former UK Tory MP who is now a member of Nigel Farage’s populist right-wing party Reform to help its campaign in the upcoming Farrer byelection.

Tom Hunt, the Conservative MP for the UK seat of Ipswich for five years until 2024, has been advising on the rightwing party’s social media strategy for the byelection after a stint in the South Australian state election.

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A One Nation spokesperson confirmed he was now a member of Reform UK and had been working with One Nation on the state election and the federal byelection campaign.

South Australian electoral returns show Hunt has been paid at least $1,000 for his work since February.

At a pub meet-and-greet event in April, One Nation’s candidate in Farrer, David Farley, praised the former Tory MP for offering “real perspective” about what’s happening in the UK and Europe.

The One Nation candidate for Farrer, David Farley. Photograph: Ellen Smith/The Guardian

“I found it quite refreshing [talking] with him and being able to debate some of the same issues that we have in Australia,” Farley said.

Hunt wrote in the Spectator in November 2025 that he had met figures across the political right in Australia and that judged on “the people I met and the mood I sensed” the Coalition appeared to be heading for the same fate as its UK counterpart, which has slumped below 20% in the polls.

Reform’s populist rightwing platform mirrors One Nation’s in many ways. It seeks to slash immigration levels, and end renewable energy targets and projects.

Since support for Farage’s party has surged, at least 18 current or former parliamentarians have joined Reform from the Conservatives.

In Australia, One Nation’s rise since the May federal election has also resulted in a divide within the Coalition – to try to out-Hanson the minor party or to stay the course as a “broad church” centre-right party.

Barnaby Joyce’s switch from the Nationals to One Nation last December represented the first possible evidence of how the rupture could emulate the UK’s situation.

“My strong sense is that despite an electoral system that often seems to operate as a protection racket for the uniparty, the future of the Liberal party is as imperilled as that of the UK Conservative party,” Hunt wrote in another Spectator article in February.

Reform UK confirmed Hunt was a member but said he “does not represent or speak for the party in any official capacity”.

The 9 May byelection in the regional NSW seat of Farrer will be the first federal test for One Nation since its recent surge in support. In South Australia, the strong polling weeks from election day translated into four lower house seats and three in the state’s legislative council.

If Farley wins, it would add a second lower house MP for Hanson, bringing the party’s total in federal parliament to six.

A March poll by UComm for the Australia Institute found that 28.7% said they would vote for One Nation first in Farrer, followed by 23.3% for the independent Michelle Milthorpe. The Liberal candidate, Raissa Butkowski, trailed with 19.1%.

The poll was taken before the campaign began in earnest and included an option to vote for Labor (chosen by 9% of those polled), but the party subsequently decided not to run a candidate.