Ex-Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns feels 'alive' after defecting to Reform UK (2025)

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A former Conservative MP has told of how she felt 'alive' after defecting to Reform UK in the midst of her bid to become Lincolnshire's first ever mayor.

Despite the heartfelt comments, the Mail revealed on Friday that Dame Andrea Jenkyns is currently facing disqualification over claims she lied about her address.

The Reform hopeful, who defected to Nigel Farage's party after a general election defeat in her then-Leeds seat, has denied the allegations and will face a hearing on April 25.

It comes as voters are set to go to the polls six days later, with the race expected to be a close fight between the Conservatives and Reform.

A candidate is required to live in the area to stand and it is a criminal offence to make false claims on the electoral register or to make a false statement on nomination papers.

Dame Andrea told LincolnshireLive last month: 'I have got a place I rent, but I have a son with special needs, and any parent wouldn't pull their child out of school until they know they've won. If I win on 1 May, I will move here full time.'

Now, speaking to The Sunday Times on Good Friday, the candidate admitted she '[hadn't] slept much this week' and had been receiving 'vitriol from other candidates'.

Describing the claims she lived in Yorkshire rather than Lincolnshire as 'very disingenuous', Dame Andrea explained it felt 'odd at first' to come under attack from her Conservative opponent, Rob Waltham.

Mr Waltham had accused his rival of 'shameless opportunism', sharing a social media post that read: 'How to be a good mayor for Lincolnshire: Live here!'

But Dame Andrea insisted she was 'confident' the council would come down on her side.

This is despite her giving several interviews in which she has admitted she lives in Leeds.

The 50-year-old spent large parts of her childhood in Lincolnshire, later serving there as a country councillor, before her election to Westminster for Morley & Outwood in west Yorkshire in 2015.

North Kesteven district council confirmed a 'formal objection' was received by the electoral registration officer and that it was currently undertaking 'the statutory process'.

Dame Andrea reported being phoned by a police officer after the Conservatives had attempted to report her over the allegations.

Speaking of the attack from her former party, she suggested she was not surprised after seeing 'what they did to Boris [Johnson]' from 'the inside'.

The dame added: 'With Reform people feel like they've got a voice. I actually feel alive again.'

Dame Andrea told of how she had been courted for years by Mr Farage and his affiliates, previously claiming she was offered a 'bribe' to defect to Reform by one of its donors before the general election.

Asked if the offer had been made again, she said 'don't be so ridiculous'.

The race is set to take place in one of the most Brexit-voting parts of the country.

Reform has performed well in Lincolnshire, with Richard Tice becoming MP for Boston and Skegness at the general election and a number of former Conservative councillors having defected to the party.

However, the Tories hold eight of the 12 parliamentary constituencies and held half of the council seats across Greater Lincolnshire in last May's elections.

In her manifesto, Dame Andrea has vowed to establish a Lincolnshire 'DOGE' to control public spending, as Tesla boss Elon Musk has done in the US.

The regional mayoralty comes with an investment fund worth £720million over the next 20 years and powers over skills and transport.

Victory for Dame Andrea would see her become one of Reform UK's first mayors and hold the party's most powerful elected office to date.

A Reform UK spokesman said: 'We understand a vexatious and politically motivated complaint has been made by the relative of a candidate in the same election that Andrea Jenkyns is contesting in an attempt to deprive the people of Lincolnshire the chance to vote for Reform UK.

'We are confident that this complaint will be dismissed.'

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