Kemi Badenoch “didn’t flinch” when confronted with proof that Robert Jenrick was about to defect – and now it’s Nigel Farage who should “watch his back”, in keeping with one of many Conservative chief’s closest allies. Alex Burghart, who’s on the coronary heart of Tory preparations to oust Labour on the subsequent normal election, mentioned her shock dispatch of Mr Jenrick earlier than he might announce he was quitting demonstrated she has what it takes to guide the celebration. He warned the Reform UK chief that Mr Jenrick is unlikely to need to “carry his bag”. However, Mr Jenrick insisted he had “put personal ambition aside” when he “committed to making Nigel Farage the next prime minister.”
Mr Burghart mentioned: “I believe Kemi has acted with nice boldness and decisiveness. I believe lots of people will see that she has the hallmarks of being an amazing chief. It’s all the time unhappy to lose a colleague however clearly she obtained very clear proof that he was about to betray the celebration and her and he or she didn’t flinch. I believe that everyone knows why this has occurred.
“It’s because there’s no vacancy at the top of the Conservative party, because Kemi is doing well, and I think that really presents a problem for Nigel Farage – because I don’t think Rob is going to Reform to carry his bag. It will be Nigel Farage who needs to watch his back.”
When asked whether he expected other Conservatives to follow Mr Jenrick to Reform, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Burghart said: “I very much hope not. There are lots of reasons to be in the Conservative party right now and Kemi is one of them.”
Mr Jenrick defended his decision to quit the Tories and made a direct appeal to Sunday Express readers to join Reform.
He said: “The truth is that Britain has been in decline for decades because of Tory and Labour mismanagement, and we’re now in a crisis. After the election, I thought the Tories might be able to learn the lessons of the party’s failings and change, but too many people are in denial, don’t get it and aren’t sorry.
“That’s why I’ve put personal ambition aside and committed to making Nigel Farage the next Prime Minister.”
Urging others to follow him, he said: “Now is the moment to put party loyalties to one side and unite behind the one party that can deliver real change. That’s Reform, led by Nigel Farage, who has been consistently right on the big issues for decades – even when it was unfashionable.
“Reform is constructing the workforce that can lastly ship the change that Sunday Express readers have been crying out for. I urge them to affix our rising motion.”
However, former Defence Secretary and ex-Conservative celebration chairman Sir Grant Shapps, cautioned: “Political parties are bigger than any one ego. The Conservatives have survived for over 250 years because we are broader and deeper than any single personality.
“By contrast, the party Robert Jenrick has joined revolves around one individual, a model British politics has rarely seen endure. Renewal doesn’t come from shock defections or headlines.
“It comes from serious leadership, credible ideas, and investing in the next generation of MPs.”
He mentioned “that work is already under way and it matters far more than the drama” of Mr Jenrick’s defection.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2159168/kemi-badenoch-didnt-flinch-robert-jenrick-nigel-farage-watch-back