Robert Jenrick has defected to Reform UK after he was dramatically sacked from the Conservative entrance bench and kicked out of the Tory occasion.
Launching a rare assault on his former occasion at a press convention in Westminster, the previous shadow justice secretary mentioned the Tories had “betrayed its voters and members” and was “in denial – or being dishonest” about its report.
He mentioned he was becoming a member of Reform UK as a result of the Conservatives below Kemi Badenoch had failed to alter after their 2024 election wipeout, arguing the nation now wants Nigel Farage.
“I can’t kid myself anymore, he said, adding: “I can’t in good conscience stick with a party that’s failed so badly, that isn’t sorry and hasn’t changed, that I know in my heart won’t – can’t – deliver what’s needed.”
In a dramatic day in politics:
- Mr Jenrick hit out at rising migration, the backlog within the courts, “overflowing” prisons and the small dimension of the military as he confirmed his transfer to Reform
- He claimed that Britain will “slip beyond the point of repair” if we don’t get the following authorities proper
- Mr Farage accused Ms Badenoch of getting “jumped the gun” by sacking Mr Jenrick, however thanked him for delivering him to Reform “on a plate”
- Sir Keir Starmer mentioned there was a “flood” of ex-Tories “going across to Reform because they know that the Tory party is a sinking ship”
Mr Jenrick was welcomed on the London press convention by the Reform chief, who described the previous shadow justice secretary’s defection as “a very big moment”.
His shock transfer to affix the occasion got here hours after Ms Badenoch took to social media to announce that she had sacked Mr Jenrick from the shadow cupboard, eliminated the whip and suspended his occasion membership after claiming to have seen “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible” to the Conservatives.
Mr Farage thanked the Tory chief for bouncing Mr Jenrick into the choice and claimed that Reform UK can have one other defection from the Labour Party subsequent week.
Addressing Ms Badenoch, the Reform chief mentioned: “You’ve handed me on a plate the man that is by far the most popular figure, 60 per cent approval rating on ConHome … You’ve perhaps today, really done anything more than anybody in history to help realign the centre-right of British politics.”
Mr Farage accused Ms Badenoch of getting “jumped the gun” by firing Mr Jenrick, claiming: “He wasn’t going to join today. He wasn’t going to join tomorrow. He wasn’t going to join next week … I think on balance it’s 60:40 that he would have [joined at all] but you never know until the deal is signed and the hand is shaken.”
His remarks got here simply minutes after the Tories scrambled to publish “extracts” of a speech they are saying was the proof of the deliberate defection to Reform UK.
According to the extracts, Mr Jenrick was planning to accuse the Tories and Labour of getting “forfeited the right to govern”, arguing that the “mantle now passes to Reform”.
It continues: “I am proud to become Reform’s 281,000th member. To back Nigel. And join this movement. I know in my heart it’s what’s right by our country. If, like me, you’ve backed another party but know it’s lost its way, don’t stay. Don’t stay in a party that hasn’t been loyal to you. When your country needs you.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson mentioned: “We are in no doubt whatsoever about Jenrick’s involvement in the drafting of these words and his intention to stab his Conservative colleagues in the back.”
Announcing his sacking on Thursday morning, Ms Badenoch mentioned: “I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his shadow cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama, and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government; they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”
Ms Badenoch later appointed Nick Timothy as shadow justice secretary to interchange Mr Jenrick.
It brings an finish to the pair’s long-running management rivalry, amid rising hypothesis Mr Jenrick had been planning to attempt to overthrow Ms Badenoch as Tory chief.
The Independent understands the 2 had it out in a dialog earlier than Christmas, when sources near Ms Badenoch say Mr Jenrick had denied he was defecting to Mr Farage’s occasion.
But his supporters declare the actual purpose he was sacked was that they had been plotting a management problem after the May elections, that are broadly anticipated to be disastrous for the Tories.
The Independent had approached Ms Badenoch’s workplace this week after seeing proof of a management push, and that Mr Jenrick’s allies had been getting ready the letters of no confidence wanted to set off a Tory management contest.
One ally of Mr Jenrick mentioned: “This is just a move to take Robert out. There was no reason for him to defect. Many of us saw him as leader elect. This could backfire badly on her.”
Former Conservative cupboard minister Dominic Grieve denied that Mr Jenrick’s defection would weaken the Tories, as an alternative saying his ousting may very well be the “first critical step on the path to recovery”.
“It is not weakening the Conservative Party at all, weak as it now is. It is ridding it of the incubus that has been destroying it,” he insisted. “It is potentially the first critical step on the path to recovery.”
Another former cupboard minister joked: “I think chances of a Conservative administration are growing by the day.”
Mr Jenrick’s defection comes simply days after former Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi defected to Reform, the most recent in a string of high-profile Conservative figures who’ve jumped ship, together with Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Jonathan Gullis and Nadine Dorries.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/robert-jenrick-reform-defection-farage-badenoch-b2901284.html