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Jittery Tories are waiting to see who might be next out of the door today after a shadow minister dramatically defected to Reform.
Nigel Farage unveiled Danny Kruger as his new recruit at a bullish press conference in Westminster - with the MP saying the Conservatives are 'over'.
The East Wiltshire MP, the son of Bake Off host Prue Leith, is the latest to make the leap to the insurgents.
But despite Kemi Badenoch trying to play down the exit, party sources admitted that Mr Kruger's extensive connections meant he was a significant loss and warned of the potential for 'panic' in the ranks.
Suella Braverman, Lord Frost and even former leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick are among the subjects of speculation.
Mr Kruger is a noted right winger, a member of the Popular Conservatives group who led opposition to the assisted dying law.
But the Old Etonian also wrote David Cameron's notorious 'hug a hoodie' speech when he was an aide to the former PM.
The former shadow work and pensions minister ran Robert Jenrick's leadership campaign when the shadow justice secretary was beaten by Mrs Badenoch last year.
The 50-year-old has been tasked with helping Reform prepare for forming a government if it defeats Labour at the next election.
'I fervently hope that the next prime minister is Nigel Farage,' he told the audience in Westminster this morning.
Adding that it was 'personally painful' for him to defect, he added: 'I hoped after our defeat last year that the Conservative Party would learn the obvious lesson, that the old ways don't work, that centrism is not enough, that real change is needed.
'But no. We have had a year of stasis and drift and the sham unity that comes from not doing anything bold or difficult or controversial.
'And the result is in the polls. And those lost voters aren't coming back, and every day, more and more people are joining them in deserting a party that has failed.
'And so this is my tragic conclusion: the Conservative Party is over, over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the left.'
One Tory source told the Daily Mail: 'Until now Reform have had low calibre Tories defect - Danny is different. I can imagine this will seriously panic Tory MPs.'
But another defiant MP said: 'Once again Reform is proving a very effective laxative for the Tory Party.'
Mr Kruger's closeness to Mr Jenrick will fuel rumours that he could opt to make a switch.
However, many Tories believe he could be more likely to use the chaos to increase pressure on Mrs Badenoch.
Mr Kruger heaped praise on Mr Jenrick at the press conference, suggesting he would have had a chance to revive the party if he had won the top job.
But he argued it was now too late to save the Conservatives.
Amid an increasingly febrile atmosphere, other names mooted to make the break include Mark Francois, John Hayes and Nadhim Zahawi - although most of those being mentioned have publicly pledged loyalty.
Mr Francois said today: 'I am not going anywhere and my advice to my colleagues is stick, rather than twist.'
Mr Farage has insisted some big beasts such as Boris Johnson and Liz Truss would not be welcome in Reform.
Mrs Badenoch was just starting a round of TV interviews as the news broke, and told broadcasters that such defections were 'going to happen' as she tried to reshape the Tories after their election hammering last year.
She said the party 'is not going to get blown off course by these sorts of incidents'.
Mr Kruger joins Lee Anderson and Sarah Pochin as former Tories who have become Reform MPs.
Former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries also caused shockwaves in the party by announcing her defection earlier this month.
Mr Farage revealed at the press conference that Mr Kruger approached him to defect rather than the other way round.
It means Reform now has five MPs - the same as it had after the general election - despite two having quit the party in the past year.
Just two months ago Mr Kruger used a speech in the Commons to criticise Reform's position on welfare spending.
'I do quite like the Reform party and I agree with its Members on lots of things, but there is a problem: they would spend money like drunken monkeys,' he told MPs.
'I can see what is happening and I am very worried about it—they will end up in an electoral pact with the Liberal Democrats with a joint ticket to protect welfare spending. I do not know how hon. Members feel about the anticipated alliance.'
The Eton-educated son of a Bake Off star who's worked for two PMs
Danny Kruger is the son of Prue Leith, a judge on TV's Great British Bake Off, and Rayne Kruger, a South African author and property developer.
He was educated at Eton College and the University of Edinburgh.
During his university days he ran a magazine called Intercourse, which controversially published pictures of naked students.
He went on to work for the Centre for Policy Studies think tank and the Daily Telegraph.
Mr Kruger's political career got off to an inauspicious start when he quit as a Tory candidate ahead of the 2005 general election.
He had been due to challenge then-PM Tony Blair in Sedgefield.
But he dropped out of the contest after he was quoted as saying he wanted a 'period of creative destruction in the public services'.
After the general election, he became chief speechwriter to new Tory leader David Cameron.
This saw him coin the 'hug a hoodie' line in one of Lord Cameron's more memorable speeches from his time as Leader of the Opposition.
He moved on from being part of Cameron's inner circle in 2008 in order to work full-time on the youth crime prevention charity he co-founded.
Mr Kruger was awarded an MBE for services to charity in 2017 and became an adviser at the Department for Culture Media and Sport in 2018.
He went on to work for Boris Johnson in Downing Street before being elected to the House of Commons as MP for Devizes at the 2019 general election.
In 2021, he was fined £120 after his puppy caused a stampede when he chased a 200-strong herd of deer in London's Richmond Park.
He sparked a row in 2023 when said marriages between men and women were 'the only possible basis for a safe and successful society'.
Mr Kruger was shadow defence minister under Rishi Sunak and shadow work and pensions minister under Kemi Badenoch before defecting to Reform UK.
His mother has said she is frequently attacked on social media over the views of her son, who is an evangelical Christian.
She and Mr Kruger confronted their different views on assisted dying during the filming of a Channel 4 show titled Prue and Danny's Death Road Trip.
He revealed that he did not tell Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch personally that he was leaving.
And he confirmed he did not think even Mr Jenrick could now rescue the party.
Tory MP Jack Rankin tweeted that he was 'gutted' Kruger had left, adding: 'Danny isn't like the clowns they've accepted of late. He is smart and wise and good.
'Whilst we share a similar analysis of the change the country needs, I disagree strongly about the vehicle with which to do so: But I respect his decision.'
Mr Kruger said he has 'no idea' whether other Conservatives MPs are in talks with Reform UK about defecting to the party, but said he hopes his former colleagues 'follow me'.
Mr Kruger said: 'I would hope that colleagues who share my view about the crisis the country is in and the opportunity that Reform offers to save our country.
'In terms of what conversations are under way, I have absolutely no idea, and that is best left to the leader.'
Responding, Mr Farage said: 'We keep everything under wraps. When we have negotiations, nothing leaks.
'None of you had a clue that Danny would be joining us today, and that is how we operate.'
But Brian Burchfield, chairman of Melksham and Devizes Conservative Association said Mr Kruger was joining 'a privately-run party that appears more focused on private interest than public service, while advocating for increased welfare spending and higher taxes'.
'If, as Mr Kruger claims, "the results are in the polls", then we would urge him to do the right thing: resign his seat and trigger a by-election,' he added.
A Labour Party spokeswoman said: 'Every Conservative who defects to Reform ties Nigel Farage more closely to their record of failure.
'Nigel Farage can recruit as many failed Tories as he likes – it won't change the fact that he has no plan for Britain.'
Who are the other potential Tory defectors?
John Hayes
The ex-minister is a veteran Brexiteer on the right of the Tory party, often tipped as someone who might be comfortable in Reform.
He has been an outrider for Suella Braverman, seen as another potential want-away.
Mark Francois
A former minister and chair of the powerful European Research Group, Mr Francois is currently on Kemi Badenoch's shadow frontbench.
His Essex constituency is near Mr Farage's Clacton seat, and they are known to get along.
However, Mr Francois is adamant he is 'not going anywhere'.
Lord Frost
Nicknamed 'Frosty the No-man', Lord Frost was picked by Boris Johnson to lead negotiations with the Brussels over Brexit.
He was handed a peerage to join the Cabinet, but has become increasingly critical of the centre-right positions adopted by the Tories under successive leaders.
He has taken a strong role in pushing for a more populist stance to take on Labour.
Suella Braverman
The former home secretary has largely distanced herself from Tory colleagues in the Commons.
She decided against running for the leadership last year, seemingly concluding that she did not have enough support.
However, Ms Braverman has so far stopped short of defecting to Reform - insisting she has no plans to do so.
Robert Jenrick
Mr Jenrick has undergone a striking political conversion since the days when he was a 'Cameroon' centrist.
Apparently radicalised by his experiences as immigration minister, he is now a staunch advocate for leaving the ECHR.
Having missed out to Mrs Badenoch in the leadership ballot, he has taken a broad approach to his Justice brief.
He has also become an adept campaigner on social media, campaigning on issues such as fare-dodging in London.
But while he might be politically at home in Reform, there are questions over how he would co-exist with Mr Farage. And many believe he would prefer to have another go at the Tory crown.