Kemi Badenoch has been hit by a major blow on the eve of the Tory party conference with the defection of a veteran London Assembly member and former Conservative council leader to Reform. Mr Prince is a former Tory leader of Redbridge council and a London Assembly member since 2016. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementHe said he plans to contest his council seat for Reform in the London borough elections next May and to seek re-election as an assembly member in 2028. Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives and the party’s former mayoral candidate, said on Saturday: “I’m very sad that Keith has gone. He will work alongside Reform’s first assembly member, Alex Wilson, who he describes as a “friend” and who is a former council colleague.