Labour dismissses Jenrick as ‘shameless chancer’
Anna Turley, the Labour chair, has issued this statement about Robert Jenrick’s defection.
Robert Jenrick says the Tories broke Britain. Now he wants to do the same again with Farage’s Reform. He’s a shameless chancer who, like the other failed Tories who have scuttled off to Reform, are more interested in their careers than the country.
With Jenrick in tow, Reform clearly wants to deliver the same chaos and decline he did while in government.
Key events
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Nick Timothy appointed shadow justice secretary, replacing Jenrick
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Labour dismissses Jenrick as ‘shameless chancer’
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Farage admits he used to think Jenrick had no convictions, but he says he has now changed his mind
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Jenrick defends lying to a journalist about not planning to defect
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Farage says his talks with Jenrick pre-defection focused on what role Jenrick would have in team
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Jenrick says he does not support some sort of electoral deal with Tories
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Jenrick explains why he won’t fight byelection having defected
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Farage says Jenrick’s defection ‘big day in realignment of genuine centre-right’ in UK
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Farage says, after May elections, Reform UK won’t accept any more defectors from Tories
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Jenrick says Tories ‘in denial’, and won’t admit Britain is broken, and they were partly to blame
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Jenrick says Sunak’s cabinet agreed small boats plan they knew would not work, and ‘some even joked about it’
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Labour and Tories ‘broke Britain’, Jenrick says
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Jenrick says both main parties are ‘rotten’
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Jenrick says Britain has been in decline for decades
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Jenrick arrives to be welcomed into Reform UK by Farage
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Farage says Jenrick is joining party – but Jenrick does not appear on stage when Farage expects
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Tories release extracts from what they say is Jenrick’s draft resignation letter
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‘It’s time for the truth’ – Jenrick breaks post-sacking silence with brief message
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Jenrick ‘expected to defect to Reform UK imminently’, report claims
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Farage claims he has not decided yet if he will acccept Jenrick as defector
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What commentators are saying about Badenoch sacking Jenrick
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Badenoch risks ‘fatal weakening’ in her position by sacking Jenrick, former Tory chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng claims
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Hollinrake says there is no way back into Tory party following his sacking for disloyalty
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Newark Tories back Badenoch’s decision to sack Jenrick, their MP
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Malcolm Offord, former Tory peer, says he won’t disclose his wealth, after being named as Reform UK’s Scottish leader
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Badenoch should publish evidence she claims to have that Jenrick about to defect, says former Tory cabinet minister
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‘This man is a fraud’ – what Farage said about Jenrick less than five months ago
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Starmer accuses Badenoch of ‘weakness’, saying Jenrick should have been sacked months ago for ‘toxic’ comments
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Labour chair says Badenoch has ‘lost control of party’ – while Labour MP praises her ‘strong leadership’ sacking Jenrick
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‘Treacherous’ Jenrick motivated to defect by ‘personal ambition’, Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake says
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Jenrick ‘completely out of his depth’ as minister, former Tory government colleague claims
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Evidence that Jenrick about to defect ‘totally irrefutable’, Tories say
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Farage claims he will announce Labour defection next week
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Farage claims Badenoch ‘panicked’, and that Reform UK was not planning to unveil Jenrick as defector later today
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Farage says ‘of course’ he has spoken to Jenrick, but Jenrick not ‘on verge’ of signing up to Reform
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Badenoch says Jenrick wanted his defection to be ‘most damaging’ to Tory party
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Kemi Badenoch sacks Robert Jenrick for ‘plotting to defect’
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Streeting ‘shocked’ police chief behind Maccabi Tel Aviv ban still in post
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Liz Kendall welcomes Elon Musk acting to stop Grok creating sexualised deepfakes, and thanks those who spoke out
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UK economy grew by better-than-expected 0.3% in November despite budget uncertainty
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Streeting welcomes second biggest monthly drop in hospital waiting lists in England in 15 years
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Steve Reed claims elections to ‘zombie councils’ pointless, as at least 22 authorities request elections delay for May
At least 18 local authorities have asked to delay elections due this year amid a government reorganisation drive, according to administrators.
District and county council ballots across England scheduled for May are set to be pushed back as officials seek to deliver structural changes as part of a shake-up to local government.
Data compiled by the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) suggests 16 district councils have requested a postponement of their elections.
In addition, East Sussex and West Sussex county councils have each requested a postponement of their elections, which are administered by 12 district councils on behalf of the county councils.
Others were yet to make a decision on whether to ask for a postponement ahead of the request deadline at midnight on Thursday.
Kemi Badenoch said she felt more “surprised” than betrayed by evidence of Robert Jenrick’s plans to defect.
The Tory leader told Sky News: “I was actually quite surprised, beyond the sadness, just how dispassionate it was.
“I’ve got to the point where I’m really worried about the people in the party whose lives and careers I have responsibility for. The people who don’t want to be in the party can go.”
Ben Quinn
Like other Conservative recruits to Reform UK, Robert Jenrick’s defection has come with no shortage of lacerating past comments about Nigel Farage and his other new colleagues.
When Nadhim Zahawi defected to Reform on Monday, Conservative headquarters were quick to unload the former chancellor’s previous comments about Farage on to social media.
In the case of Jenrick, below is just some of the ammunition they have been drawing on once again.
Andrew Sparrow
In his speech Robert Jenrick attacked the Conservative party’s record on net zero, and singled out Mel Stride and Priti Patel for specific criticism. (See 5.01pm.)
Tory HQ have been going through his former tweets, and have highlighted these ones to journalists as new examples of his inconsistency.
From 2019
⭐️The UK is first advanced economy in the world to pass a net zero target.
⭐️We’re committed to phasing out unabated coal power by 2025.
⭐️We’ve reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25% since 2010. #LeadersDebate #BackBoris
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) November 19, 2019
From 2024
Mel has showcased the best of the Conservative Party.
As Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel enacted reforms that made our welfare system fairer and meant we could cut taxes responsibly.
In opposition we must reclaim our reputation for fiscal responsibility which has inspired the… https://t.co/2IVQTB0Oxi
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) September 11, 2024
From 2024
My friend @pritipatel is a relentless champion for Conservatism whose experience will be invaluable as we rebuild.
Her campaign means the case for party reform is now unarguable.
We must democratise the party, empower members and grow our membership. https://t.co/xlydSYfhaM
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) September 4, 2024
That is all from me for today. Nadeem Badshah is now taking over.
In the latest edition of the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast, Lucy Hough talks to Archie Bland about the Robert Jenrick defection.
The Best for Britain campaign has launched a tracker keeping a tally of former Tories who have joined Reform UK. As well as former MPs, it includes councillors, donors, and candidates. So far there are 112 names on the list.
Nick Timothy appointed shadow justice secretary, replacing Jenrick
Kemi Badenoch has appointed Nick Timothy as the new shadow justice secretary. In an announcement on social media, she said:
Delighted to announce that @NJ_Timothy is the new Shadow Justice Secretary.
As an MP, Nick has led the way in revealing the failure of West Midlands Police Chief over the Maccabi football ban, and in opposing Labour’s sinister Islamophobia definition.
He is a true Conservative, brings a wealth of experience, and is a formidable campaigner.
Nick will be a massive asset to the Shadow Cabinet team as we continue to develop our plans for a stronger economy, stronger borders and a stronger country.
In his response, Timothy said:
Thank you, Kemi, for putting your trust in me.
It will be an honour to serve, and I can’t wait to get started.
Sorting our human rights laws and fixing our courts and prisons are huge jobs.
But first, we will fight Labour’s plans to curb jury trials.
Timothy worked as an adviser for Theresa May when she was home secretary, and then her co-chief of staff when she became prime minister. But he left after the 2017 general election because he was the principal author of the election manifesto that is credited for the Tories losing their majority – it included plans for social care reform that was dismissed by opponents as a “dementia tax”. He also wrote May’s 2016 party conference Brexit speech that committed to the UK to a hard Brexit without the cabinet’s agreement, or – according to some accounts – May even being fully aware for the significance of what she was saying.
And the Lib Dem verdict on Robert Jenrick is much the same as Labour’s. (See 5.52pm.) Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, said:
This was a conman introducing a charlatan. Robert Jenrick has an industrial-grade brass neck to be complaining about how broken Britain is, when it was him and his Conservative cronies who did such damage to our country and to trust and faith in politics.
Labour dismissses Jenrick as ‘shameless chancer’
Anna Turley, the Labour chair, has issued this statement about Robert Jenrick’s defection.
Robert Jenrick says the Tories broke Britain. Now he wants to do the same again with Farage’s Reform. He’s a shameless chancer who, like the other failed Tories who have scuttled off to Reform, are more interested in their careers than the country.
With Jenrick in tow, Reform clearly wants to deliver the same chaos and decline he did while in government.
Farage admits he used to think Jenrick had no convictions, but he says he has now changed his mind
Q: You said in the past that Jenrick had no convictions.
“And I meant it,” Farage jokes.
But you know what? I’m allowed to change my mind.
I’m allowed to watch the progression and the journey …
I don’t trust any of them. Naturally, they have to prove to me that they are genuinely repentant.
I do think what this guy has done with the energy that he’s put into his journalism, into his YouTube videos, into his speeches in parliament … I’m talking to people who know him outside of politics, I’m convinced that he’s not that same person.
Asked if he is happy about that, Jenrick says that is politics.
Farage says Reform UK has already rejected “several” Tories who have applied to join.
Jenrick says that, when he woke up this morning, he had already decided to resign – but was not expecting to do it today.
UPDATE: Jenrick said:
I didn’t know I was going to leave today, but I had resolved to leave the party, and that was as I said, something I had given a great deal of thought to over a very long time, and fact that it’s happened a little bit sooner. So what?
In fact, it means I can get on with trying to help Nigel help Reform to succeed slightly sooner.
Asked again about defecting out of ambition, Jenrick says given that he was favourite to be next Tory leader, this would be an odd move if he was just motivated by ambition.
Jenrick defends lying to a journalist about not planning to defect
Camilla Tominey from the Telegraph says last week she wrote a column about the chance of Jenrick defection. She says she was in contact with what she describes as “sources close to you”. They said he would never defect.
She is implying that she contacted Jenrick, and he lied.
Jenrick says:
It’s no surprise that if you phone me, I don’t have to tell you everything you want for your column.
Tominey is more direct, and says he was lying last week. She suggests that shows people are right to view him as untrustworthy.
Jenrick replies:
I’m very sorry to disabuse you, since I thought you were a very experienced journalist, but politicians don’t have to reply to all the text messages, so they get sent by journalists. And I wasn’t going to give you the exclusive news of my decision.
But if you’re asking me the question about honesty, nobody in the Conservative party was more honest about the failings of the last conservative government than me.
Farage says what they are seeing today is a historic reuniting of people on the centre right.
Asked about Jenrick’s failures in government, Farage says in business it is normal for people to have some failures before they succeeed. He is interested in people who can learn from failure.
Farage says his talks with Jenrick pre-defection focused on what role Jenrick would have in team
Q: You talked about deals. So what was Jenrick offered?
Farage says:
I haven’t offered him a rank. I haven’t offered him a title. I haven’t offered him a position. I haven’t offered him money or anything like that.
We were in conversation, actively in conversation, as to what the best fit was for Robert as part of the front team, joining the people you see in front of you.
And a cynic would say his position was weakened. But you know what? I’m carrying on the conversation now in exactly the same spirit as I did before.
Q: Would you accept Kemi Badenoch?
Farage says let’s see. But he again urges Tories to defect before 7 May.
But he does not think Badenoch will be applying, he says.
Q: Last summer you said Zia Yusuf should be kicked out of Reform. How will you smooth over relations?
Jenrick says people say all sorts of things. He has been called worse. He says he has the highest respect for people who have built this party.
Farage says Yusuf blames everyone involved in the 2019 Tory government; he claims he is teaching him the virtues of forgiveness.
