Overview
- Reform head of policy Zia Yusuf announced on Oct. 19 that James Orr has formally joined as a senior adviser to Nigel Farage.
- The party said the hire is intended to bring in elite talent and it denied any shift toward an anti‑abortion position.
- Orr is an associate professor at Cambridge, leads the Centre for a Better Britain, and has been involved with National Conservatism conferences.
- Coverage highlights Orr’s close ties to US vice president J.D. Vance, who once called him his “British sherpa,” and reports of influence on the Trump administration’s philosophy.
- Labour and the Liberal Democrats criticized the appointment, pointing to reports that Orr opposes abortion in all cases and previously described asylum seekers as “invaders,” while the move comes after Tory MP Danny Kruger’s defection to Reform.