A summary of today's developments
Robert Jenrick made a dramatic defection to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on Thursday after being sacked by Kemi Badenoch for plotting against her.
Jenrick had the Conservative whip removed and his party membership suspended earlier in the day, after Badenoch said she had found “irrefutable evidence” that he was planning to defect. The Tory leader appointed the West Suffolk MP Nick Timothy as shadow justice secretary after Jenrick’s sacking.
The Reform leader Nigel Farage called it the “latest Christmas present I’ve ever had” and said it was still “60/40” if Jenrick would defect until Badenoch forced his hand. However, Jenrick later admitted that he had already resolved to defect by the morning of his sacking, and that it would probably have happened in the coming days.
Jenrick said discussions had started with Reform in September, understood to have been facilitated by the former Tory adviser Tim Montgomerie, who joined Farage’s party in December 2024. He also confirmed that he would not call a byelection in his Newark constituency. But Jenrick added that there had not been discussions about a defection, but about the state of the country.
Farage said that after the 7 May local elections there would be no more Tory defections, and Reform would reject more seeking to join. He said Jenrick was “in sackcloth and ashes” about decisions made during his time in the Tory government. Anna Turley, the Labour chair, said: “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.”
The multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter. Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was unveiled by Reform’s leader Nigel Farage as the party’s first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election where Reform is expected to win up to 18 seats.
A Liverpool Labour MP has called for further changes to the proposed Hillsborough Law amid concerns that it leaves loopholes in applying the duty of candour to the intelligence services.
Amendments proposed by the government on Wednesday brought spies within the scope of the legislation, subject to the approval of the head of their service.
But campaigners have said this would allow the heads of the security services to decide whether to disclose information.
Ian Byrne, the Liverpool West Derby MP, posted on X: “I cannot, in all good conscience, support any amendments that abandon the Manchester Arena bombing families, nuclear test veterans, or the Chinook disaster families.
“I made a commitment to deliver the Hillsborough Law… without exemptions, without loopholes and without carve-outs.
“The government made this promise in its manifesto. If the government’s amendments are passed then the legislation, in its current form, is not that.”
Byrne has tabled several amendments of his own so the duty of candour would apply not only to intelligence organisations but also to people who work for them.
Updated
On the manner of Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform, one unnamed shadow cabinet minister told the BBC that Jenrick left a printed copy of his resignation speech lying around, “like something from The Thick Of It”.
A senior Conservative MP close to Kemi Badenoch said they had got hold of a “full speech and media plan” for his defection, and another Conservative source talking about “material” that was left “lying around”.
Updated
Tory MP David Davis said Robert Jenrick “should stop blaming others for the state of the country” and is “as responsible as anyone else”.
The former Brexit secretary wrote on X: “It’s entirely up to Robert Jenrick what he does next with his career. But he should stop blaming others for the state of the country.”
He added: “After serving as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Minister of State for Health and Minister of State for Immigration, he is as responsible as anyone else.
“Particularly considering that he chose to walk out of government after not being promoted by Rishi Sunak, he now attacks from the sidelines the colleagues he abandoned,” Davis said.
“Unlike him, some of his colleagues chose not to serve in governments that were doing the wrong thing.”
Robert Jenrick made a dramatic defection to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on Thursday, declaring the Conservatives “rotten” and a “failed” party, after being sacked by Kemi Badenoch for plotting against her.
In a high-stakes day for the future of the British right, Jenrick became the most senior Tory to switch allegiance to Reform, launching into a fiery and personal denunciation of his former colleagues in the shadow cabinet.
The defection of Jenrick deepens the schism on the right of politics as Badenoch struggles to keep the Conservatives together in the face of a string of high-profile moves to Reform.
Four days before Robert Jenrick was kicked out of the Tories for planning to defect to Reform UK, he spoke “at length” with Kemi Badenoch on the phone about party strategy. The week before he had sat through a shadow cabinet awayday taking copious notes.
While the Tory leader had been aware for some time of speculation over her shadow justice secretary’s future, she had no hard proof of his plans, so it was business as usual. That all changed just 24 hours after their one-to-one conversation.
With Robert Jenrick’s defection, the total number of current or former Conservative parliamentarians to join Reform rises to 18. Some of the best known are likely to be prominent voices for Nigel Farage’s party in the run-up to the next election.
There are others within the Conservative party thought to have considered their position in recent months. But Farage has claimed that the value of such additions to his ranks was dropping – and said he would accept no further defectors from the Tories after the May elections, arguing that by then his party’s strength would be so clear that they would have little to add.
Here are some of the most prominent figures on both sides of that divide.
For a long time, Robert Jenrick’s transformation from a David Cameron-supporting remainer to an anti-immigration rightwinger did not convince many of his political peers – least of all Nigel Farage.
Only last year, the Reform UK leader was describing him as a “fraud” and saying he was sceptical that Jenrick was genuine, dubbing him “Robert the Generic, Robert the Remainer and Robert the I Don’t Stand Particularly for Anything at all”.
“There are people in politics who are there through conviction and there are people in politics who are there because they want to reach rank, position and all that comes with that,” he said at the time.
“I’m really still not sure about Jenrick, to be honest with you, I’m really not sure.”
Now, the verdicts of some of Jenrick’s Tory colleagues on his political behaviour are similarly damning and centre on his unbridled ambitions.
One said Jenrick “does not have a truly rightwing bone in his body” but merely goes whichever way the political wind is blowing to serve his own career.
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.
Updated
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.”
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.
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.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) November 19, 2019
⭐️We’re committed to phasing out unabated coal power by 2025.
⭐️We’ve reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 25% since 2010. #LeadersDebate #BackBoris
From 2024
Mel has showcased the best of the Conservative Party.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) September 11, 2024
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
From 2024
My friend @pritipatel is a relentless champion for Conservatism whose experience will be invaluable as we rebuild.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) September 4, 2024
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
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.
Updated
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.
Updated
Farage says Reform UK has already rejected “several” Tories who have applied to join.
Updated
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.
Updated
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 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.
Updated
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.
Q: How did you get caught?
Jenrick says he does not want to discuss that.
He woke up this morning as the most popular Tory cabinet minister in the ConservativeHome poll, and the bookies’ favourite to be next Tory leader.
You do not do this sort of thing lightly, he says.
Jenrick says he does not support some sort of electoral deal with Tories
Jenrick says he does not support a pact with the Conservatives.
Earlier this year, at a private dinner, Jenrick suggested that there would have to be some sort of deal between the two parties if they were both viable at the time of the next election, because otherwise there was a risk of Labour winning.
He says the Tories do not understand the mistake they made, and have not repented.
Q: [To Farage] Jenrick is very ambitious. He stood for leader. Do you trust him?
Jenrick takes the question. He says he “put aside my own personal ambition” when he joined the party. He will be working to make Nigel Farage PM.
Jenrick explains why he won't fight byelection having defected
Jenrick says he will not stand down and fight a byelection as a Reform UK candidate.
UDPATE: Jenrick said:
I don’t intend to call a byelection, but I’ll say this to you, I was elected at the last general election against every poll, all the MRP polls and whatever that journalists like yourself were putting out, and that, I believe, was because my constituents knew that I stood up for them.
I was willing to do things which are difficult, sometimes be very independent minded.
They respected the fact that I had resigned from the last Conservative government.
In fact, there are a lot of Reform voters in Newark who decided to bite their tongue and not vote Reform and to vote for me at the last general election, precisely because of that, and my constituents know that I’ll continue to do that, to be the strongest possible voice for them and for the issues that they care about, and above all, to hold this failing Labour Government to account.
Updated
Farage says Jenrick's defection 'big day in realignment of genuine centre-right' in UK
Farage says:
I believe is a big day in the realignment of the genuine centre-right of this country, I think Rob coming will bring a lot, lot more people and voters to us.
He says he was not sure this would come off. He says these deals sometimes don’t.
(That seems to contradict what Jenrick said a few minutes ago – see 5.10pm.)
He says Jenrick will join the frontline team.
And he will be announcing new jobs soon.
He says he and Jenrick are on “exactly the same page on virtually everything” now, even though that was not the case in the past.
Q: [From GB News' Christopher Hope – to Jenrick] What have you been offered? And how are you feeling?
Jenrick says nothing has been offered. He is just here to play his part.
It is a sad day for him to leave a party he has been in for so long.
And he knows there are good people in the party, he says. He went round the country meeting them – doing more than 100 events last year.
He says Reform is there for anyone who thinks the party has to be turned around.
Q: [From the BBC’s Chris Mason] You were late for your own defection. When did you make up your mind? You were sitting in the shadow cabinet only yesterday.
Jenrick says there were not many Tories in Wolverhampton when he joined as a 16-year-old.
When he went to the Home Office, he realised it was not functioning.
He tried to change it from within.
When he failed, he left government.
He says it is time to put the country first.
Farage says, after May elections, Reform UK won't accept any more defectors from Tories
Farage and Jenrick are now taking questions.
Q: [To Farage – from the BBC’s Chris Mason] Doesn’t this make it look as if you are the Tories 2.0?
Farage says Jenrick is “in sackcloth and ashes” over his record. He says Jenrick resigned from the Tory government.
He says there are other Tories who want to come. But there are some of those people that he does not want, he says.
He says, after 7 May (the Scottish, Welsh and local elections), the doors will be closed for defectors to Reform UK from the Tories.
Jenrick ends by saying he is joining Reform because they believe in real change.
But he and Farage don’t agree on everything, he says.
Jenrick goes on to criticise Priti Patel in particular for her record as home secretary. She is now shadow foreign secretary.
Now, the people I’m about to mention are all decent people. But because I’m here today, I need to explain myself.
The shadow Chancellor, Mel Stride, has rightly attacked Labour for hiking taxes to fund more scrounging. But there’s just one problem. He was the cabinet minister who oversaw the explosion of the welfare bill. And it was him who blocked the reforms that are needed.
Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, created the very migration system that enabled 5 million migrants to come here. The greatest failure of any British government in the post-war period. When asked about this last year, she defended her actions. She doesn’t believe she did anything wrong.
Jenrick says Tories 'in denial', and won't admit Britain is broken, and they were partly to blame
Jenrick attacks Labour and the Conservatives over net zero policy.
After the election, he hoped the Tory party would change. That is why he stood for leader.
He goes on:
But over the last year, I realised that I was naive. It hasn’t happened. Most of the Conservative party in Westminster are in denial or worse. They’re being dishonest about what the party’s done.
At a recent shadow cabinet debate a conversation broke out. The question was put to the group. Is Britain broken?
I said instinctively, it’s broken. Almost everyone said it’s not broken. And we were told that is the party line.
A few had a third position; it is broken, but we can’t say so because the Conservative party broke it.
If they won’t admit publicly to you, the British people, what they broke, what possible faith can you have in them to fix it?
The Conservative party in Westminster isn’t sorry. It doesn’t get it. It hasn’t changed. It won’t change. It can’t change.
Jenrick says Sunak's cabinet agreed small boats plan they knew would not work, and 'some even joked about it'
Jenrick attacks the record of the Rishi Sunak government on immigration.
I will never forget, never forget attending a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, where a plan to stop the boats was signed off. But everyone to a man and a woman around that table knew in their hearts it was not going to work. Some even joked about it. I left Downing Street that night resolved to resign from the cabinet. And I’ve never forgotten that.
Labour and Tories 'broke Britain', Jenrick says
Jenrick says his first loyalty is to the country.
Turning [Britain] around will require each and every one of us to speak the truth, and not just to speak it, but to act.
What’s the truth? Both Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain, and both are now dominated by those without the competence or the backbone needed to fix it.
Both parties … are committed to a set of ideas that have failed and are failing Britain.
Jenrick says both main parties are 'rotten'
Jenrick says decline has been going on for years.
Whilst this government is accelerating our decline, they didn’t begin it. We’ve had 20 to 30 years of this.
And why is it happened? Because the two main parties are rotten. They are no longer fit for purpose. They both broke Britain and neither can fix it.
It’s a conclusion about the Conservative party that has pained me to reach, because I’ve been a member of this party since I was 16 years old.
Jenrick says the tax burden is at the highest level since the 1950s.
We’re spending more on debt, interest than on defence and schools combined. In 2012, one in 20 people who went to A&E waited more than four hours. Now it’s eight times that.
One in five schoolkids of persistently absent, 93% of crime goes unresolved. The courts are backlogged. The prisons are overflowing. The army is the smallest it’s been been since Napoleonic times.
193,000 people have come here on small boats since 2018. Last year, one illegal migrant raped a 12 year old girl in Nuneaton. Terrorists have broken into Britain on small boats.
And we’re living through the most profound change to our population in our nation’s history. Net migration is 100 times higher in the 25 years after 1997 than in the 25 years before it. One in five in Britain weren’t born here. Many are not working or doing low paid work. Just one in 20 of 2022 migrants were net contributors.
Countless communities in less than 25 years have become totally unrecognisable. The police, as we’ve seen this week, can’t even police some of our largest cities.
Jenrick says his constituents in Newark can see this.
I challenge anyone to argue other than that Britain is completely broken.
Those that came before us built a great country, the greatest country in the world.
But we are set to lose it. We will for certain if this government gets re-elected.
Jenrick says Britain has been in decline for decades
Jenrick has got a speech, and he starts.
It’s time for the truth. Britain has been in decline. Britain is in decline.
From 1970 to 2007 real wages went down by one-third every ten years. Since then, they flatlined.
At the turn of the millennium the average Brit was earning more than twice as much as the average Pole. By 2031 we are on track to be poorer.
He says outside London and the south east, the economy is closer to Bulgaria’s than Poland’s.
He says the service sector is exposed to AI.
One on five working-age Brit is not working, he says.
Jenrick arrives to be welcomed into Reform UK by Farage
Farage jokes about what a mess it will be if Jenrick does not appear.
He appears now.
Farage says:
I wondered if you had changed your mind. I was getting a bit worried about it.
Farage and Jenrick are now posing for pictures.
Farage says Jenrick is joining party - but Jenrick does not appear on stage when Farage expects
Nigel Farage is speaking at his press conference now.
He says he was due to announce plans to challenge Labour over delaying local elections. He was going to present a legal paper explaining the case for judicial review.
He says many Tories think their party will not exist as a national party after the May elections.
He says notes from Robert Jenrick’s office leaked. Jenrick was not planning to join today, or tomorrow, or next week.
He might not have joined at all.
He thinks it was just 60/40 that Jenrick would have joined, knowing how these negotiations work.
He says, as a result, he had to think quickly.
He says Kemi Badenoch has given him a late Christmas present.
He says he can welcome Jenrick to the party.
This is a big moment that will “help re-align the centre right of British politics”, he says.
But Jenrick does not appear.
Tories release extracts from what they say is Jenrick's draft resignation letter
And the Tories have just released extracts from the draft resignation letter obtained by Kemi Badenoch.
A Conservative party spokesperson said:
We have taken the decision to release extracts of the evidence we have been passed of Robert Jenrick’s planned defection. 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.
And here are the extracts.
The Tories and Labour have forfeited the right to govern the United Kingdom. And the mantle now passes to Reform.
Nigel has stood for the real change we need for over a decade. If one puts party allegiance - personal ambition - to one side, he is obviously the right person to lead the movement for it - and delivery of it. And I am convinced Nigel will deliver the real change needed.
Thanks to Zia & Richard, Reform’s policies already meet the moment more than any other party’s. But they and Nigel know the extraordinary challenges Britain faces requires [ sic ] a comprehensive plan to turn things around. Developing the best one possible will be a major priority this year. As will [ sic ], as Nigel has said many times, building and recruiting the team to execute it.
For all these reasons, today, 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.
And, perhaps more importantly, if you’ve never been near politics before, but think you have the energy and ideas and experience to turn Britain around. Come join.
I agree Britain is broken. In major decline. On the brink. In need of real change. And know neither Conservatives nor Labour will deliver it. Come join Reform.
It is ironic that the Tories sent this out to journalists just after Jenrick posed on X that it was time for the truth.
'It's time for the truth' - Jenrick breaks post-sacking silence with brief message
Robert Jenrick has posted this on social media.
It’s time for the truth.
These are his first public comments since being sacked.
But that’s all so far.
Kemi Badenoch has told Sky News that she sacked Robert Jenrick, not just because he was going to defect, but because he was planning to “torch the Conservative party by putting out comments and allegations that would have been very, very bad”.
Asked if she thought Jenrick would have joined Reform UK by the end of the day, she said it was not her problem any more, but Nigel Farage’s problem.
Updated
Jenrick 'expected to defect to Reform UK imminently', report claims
But was Nigel Farage lying? Steven Swinford from the Times implies he was. He has just posted this on social media.
Robert Jenrick is expected to defect to Reform UK imminently, The Times has been told
Allies of Jenrick say they expect him to appear alongside Nigel Farage at a press conference in Westminster shortly
Farage is saying he has not decided but others are saying it is a done deal
Farage claims he has not decided yet if he will acccept Jenrick as defector
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has arrived at the venue for his press conferencee this afternoon. Asked on his way in if he was taking Robert Jenrick as a defector, he replied: “I haven’t decided.”
But, when asked if he could trust someone like Jenrick who betrayed a party leader, Farage replied with a question: “How many times did Churchill defect?”
Farage was referrinng to the fact that Winston Churchill started his career as a Conservative, defected to the Liberals where he served in cabinet under Asquith and Lloyd George, before he switched back to the Conservatives in the 1920s when he became chancellor.
What commentators are saying about Badenoch sacking Jenrick
For Kemi Badenoch, the sacking of Robert Jenrick is generally seen as good news, at least today; she looks decisive; what 2024 showed was that the British public like sacking Tories, and she has just got rid of another one. But, once the drama dies down, she is still left with the fact that the defection crisis is continuing, with Jenrick becoming her first shadow cabinet member to decide he would be better off elsewhere.
For Nigel Farage, this is a pretty good day too. He has probably lost a surprise defection PR coup (there is speculation that Jenrick was planning to walk next week). But Farage has got most of the advantages of big Tory defection, without having negotiate with Jenrick over a job.
For Jenrick, it has been a disaster. He has been wrong-footed by Badenoch, possibly betrayed by a supporter, and he has lost what leverage he had with Farage over getting a Reform UK job.
And, for Labour it is a good day too. Labour needs the right to be split and the worst outcome for Starmer in 2026 would have been Jenrick replacing Badenoch, and then negotiating some sort of Reform-Tory pact before (as he proposed) before the election. At least that is now off the table.
Those are my takes. Here are some thoughts from other journalist and commentators.
Stephen Pollard at the Spectator says this has made Badenoch stronger.
Jenrick has a knack for polished social media videos but that’s about it. And his transformation from Tory centrist to supposed champion of the right in the run-up to the last election and the subsequent leadership contest was a bit too obviously careerist. That was one of the reasons Badenoch beat him when they stood against each other. She was clearly more authentic.
With his Tory ambitions so diminished, it seems he has seen more chance of advancement in Reform. Presented with what Badenoch calls ‘clear, irrefutable evidence’ that Jenrick was plotting to defect, the Tory leader was presented with a gift – a sacking that was both necessary, obvious and politically useful to her, further cementing her standing as leader.
As it happens, a few minutes after Nadhim Zahawi defected earlier this week I received a text from a very senior Reform member who predicted that, rather than defect, Jenrick would simply walk away from politics. ‘There is no appetite for him in Reform beyond a potential junior cabinet level position, which will not attract him.’ Let’s see…
Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says Tory MPs are glad to see Jenrick gone.
Jenrick was runner up in the Tory Party’s 2024 leadership election. He is arguably their most effective digital age campaigner. And yet the Conservative Party and its leader Kemi Badenoch are almost certainly stronger following his expulsion for allegedly plotting to defect to Reform.
Don’t take my word for it. I have spoken to Tory MPs today from all wings and factions in the party. And there was no hint of sadness or regret at his brutal removal.
While none of them have explicitly said “good riddance,” they believe that his presence as a constant rival to Badenoch was too painful a reminder of the party’s modern history of civil war.
And they are also convinced that Badenoch’s decisiveness in expelling him reinforces her growing reputation for decisiveness and shows a defter political touch than she manifested during her first months as leader.
Paul Brand at ITV argues much the same.
Jenrick’s unequivocal sacking shows the relative strength of Badenoch’s leadership at the moment. Buoyed by improved polling, Conservative MPs were telling me just yesterday that they feel she has found her feet and is gaining momentum. Now her main rival is also discredited.
Stephen Bush at the Financial Times says this could work out well for Badenoch – but only if she recognises the need to junk not just Jenrick, but his very rightwing politics.
This is, by Badenoch’s own account, a “You’re not dumping me, I’m dumping you” type of sacking. That sort of thing never reflects well on the person saying it, but on this occasion it does rescue a bit of Conservative dignity by denying Farage a moment of Westminster theatre. The best time to remove Jenrick from the Conservative Party was in autumn last year. But the second-best time is now, and this week could yet represent the moment in which the Conservatives finally wised up to the nature of the threat they face from their rivals on the right.
Farage has never kept his desire to destroy the Tory party a secret. Yet too many Conservatives have a sentimental view of Reform as a long-lost family member, whose politicians should be talked about as sadly estranged children, rather than opponents who stand against or have equivocated on many of the Conservative Party’s proudest achievements, from free trade to Britain’s support for Ukraine …
Still, the exit of Jenrick from the Conservative family does pose a threat as well as an opportunity. Many of her parliamentary allies are not natural “Badenochites” but have been clinging to her leadership for fear that Jenrick was her inevitable successor. Without that fear, Badenoch will now have to prove that she has a plan for the Tory party to become something other than Reform’s caustic echo.
Amanda Akass from Sky News says there is now a risk of Tory civil war.
While Tories are publicly praising Kemi Badenoch’s “strong leadership” over Robert Jenrick’s defenestration, one backbencher told me she’s “ignited the civil war” & he doesn’t believe Jenrick was about to defect (as he’s likely to have won a leadership challenge in May)
This is Kwasi Kwarteng’s view too. (See 3.24pm.) But there is no clear evidence of that yet.
James Heale from the Spectator quotes Tory MPs welcoming Jenrick’s departure.
Reaction from some Tories on Badenoch sacking Jenrick:
Jerome Mayhew: “Kemi is a badass!”
Graham Stuart: “Loyalty counts, as does courage and decisiveness.”
Neil Shastri-Hurst: “It was no longer appropriate for him to remain in his position.”
Julian Smith: “100pc right”
Fraser Nelson from the Times wonders whether Farage will actually accept Jenrick.
What if Farage does not now accept Jenrick?
You can see why he wouldn’t. Zahawi went down v badly with Reform activists: yet another failed Tory, rejected by Kemi.
Risk for Reform is that it starts looking like a lifeboat for thwarted Conservatives, not a vehicle for change.
Sam Freedman, the Comment is Freed substacker, has been having the same thoughts too.
The best thing about this is Jenrick’s defection is now worth much less to Farage reducing his leverage. Very enjoyable.
Best outcome is Farage says no + Bobby J is forced to set up yet another “would you like some racism with that?” party causing further fragmentation on the right
And James Ball from the New World agrees.
Honestly, if this ends with Jenrick out of the Tories but not in Reform, I could see both Kemi Badenoch *and* Nigel Farage chalking that up as a win for themselves, if perhaps not their parties.
Lewis Goodall from the News Agents podcast has thought of another party Jenrick could join.
Funniest timeline now is that Jenrick and Farage can’t work out a deal, and Jenrick ends up having to do the full Powell and join the DUP.
And Luke Tryl, the More in Common pollster, argues that in some respects Badenoch is a victim of her own success.
The paradox of Badenoch’s personal bounce is it made her position more secure, that in turn made Jenrick’s leadership ambitions less likely, furthering the chance of a damaging defection that might well undo (or worse) any progress.
Badenoch risks 'fatal weakening' in her position by sacking Jenrick, former Tory chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng claims
Kwasi Kwarteng, who was chancellor when Liz Truss was PM, has written an article for GB News arguing that Kemi Badenoch may face a “fatal weakening” in her position as as result of sacking Robert Jenrick. He argues:
For Kemi … the sacking of Robert Jenrick could have much graver consequences.
The split on the right is real. Badenoch’s sacking of Jenrick could actually cause him to defect in reality. That would be a bombshell. It would also potentially be fatal for the Conservatives.
It would show the Tory party was split. Jenrick is no Nadhim Zahawi, a figure who left parliament and is no longer an MP.
Jenrick came second in the last Tory leadership contest. He is still in parliament. He is a current and active political figure in a way that Zahawi simply isn’t.
His defection would be Reform’s biggest scalp by far. Many Conservatives might consider their own position within the party, should Jenrick defects.
By trying to show strength and decisiveness, Kemi may unwittingly have caused a fatal weakening of her own position and the implosion of the Conservative party.
Kwarteng’s argument has some echoes of that made earlier by another former Tory chancellor (rather more long-serving), George Osborne. (See 1.31pm.)
YouGov has also re-published some Robert Jenrick polling figures. They show that he was only marginally more popular with Tory supporters (net support +6) than with Reform UK supporters (net support +3) when the poll was conducted in October.
In April last year Ipsos conducted a poll asking people what impact on their view of Reform a Robert Jenrick defection would have. Overall, it was a net negative, but not by much. Keiran Pedley posted the figures on social media.
Updated
Kemi Badenoch has emailed Conservative party members to explain her decision to sack Robert Jenrick, Aubrey Allegretti from the Times reports. She told them.
When I was elected leader I committed to doing politics differently. Disloyalty and dishonesty undermine trust in politics.
They are also disrespectful to our party members, our councillors, MPs and most of all voters. You all deserve better.
Hollinrake says there is no way back into Tory party following his sacking for disloyalty
In his Sky News interview, Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, was asked if there was “no way back” for Robert Jenrick in the light of his disloyalty. Hollinrake agreed. He said the party was “very clear on that”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative party chair, has been interviewed on Sky News. Asked about the call from Jacob Rees-Mogg for the evidence against Robert Jenrick to be published (see 2.01pm), he said the evidence was “damning” and “irrefutable” – but he did not commit to publishing it.
This is from Jack Elsom, the Sun political editor, on the evidence (a draft resignation speech).
Tories confident they have Jenrick bang to rights. One says the evidence leaves “zero doubt”.
Updated
Newark Tories back Badenoch's decision to sack Jenrick, their MP
Newark Conservative association, where Robert Jenrick is MP, has issued a statement on Facebook saying it backs Kemi Badenoch’s decision to sack him. Keith Girling, the association chair, said:
Kemi Badenoch was absolutely right to take this decisive action when faced with irrefutable evidence that Robert Jenrick was plotting to defect in the most damaging way possible.
Jenrick has let down his party, let down the activists who campaigned for him as a Conservative MP, and let down the voters of Newark who re-elected him in 2024.
Malcolm Offord, former Tory peer, says he won't disclose his wealth, after being named as Reform UK's Scottish leader
Severin Carrell is the Guardian’s Scotland editor.
The multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter.
Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was unveiled by Reform’s leader Nigel Farage as the party’s first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election where Reform is expected to win up to 18 seats.
Offord is an avid yachtsman who wins races at Cowes, collects classic cars and recently bought a mansion on the banks of Loch Lomond for £1.6m without a mortgage, and previously endorsed suggestions the public could be charged to use the NHS.
Speaking at a press conference in Kirkcaldy, Farage and Offord, who was appointed to the upper house by former Tory prime minister David Cameron in 2021, ceremoniously signed a letter stating Offord has “retired” as a peer in order to stand for Holyrood.
They acknowledged that Offord would remain a life peer since only an act of parliament can cancel a life peerage; Farage indicated they did not intend to apply to the king for such an act but said Offord would no longer attend the Lords or use the title.
Pressed by reporters on whether he would declare his wealth before the May elections, he refused to do so and declined to publish his tax returns. The convention at the Scottish parliament is for party leaders to do so.
“I’m not talking about my net worth,” he said. “That’s not of any relevance to anybody. For a start, it’s not something you pluck out of the air because your assets are not easily valued.”
Farage said Reform said would putting up 100 candidates in May’s election, to contest most of the 129 seats.
“We feel very confident that the list of men and women we put before the Scottish electorate will represent a very, very broad cross-section of working life in Scotland, people of real experience, not many professional politicians, amongst them,” he said.
Offord said those candidates were “real, authentic people” who included midwives, teachers, doctors and a procurator fiscal - a state prosecutor. “They represent Scotland at its grassroots in every part of this country,” he said.
The latest Scottish opinion poll, published by the political consultancy True North on Thursday and conducted by Survation, suggests Reform is neck and neck with Labour for second place, behind the Scottish National party on 34% of the constituency vote.
Survation estimated Reform was on 19% of the constituency vote, compared to Labour on 16%. On the list vote, Reform and Labour were tied at 18%. True North said those data implied the SNP would win 61 seats, less than an overall majority, with Labour and Reform tied on 18 seats.
The latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast is out. It features Kiran Stacey and John Harris talking about Robert Jenrick’s sacking.
Badenoch should publish evidence she claims to have that Jenrick about to defect, says former Tory cabinet minister
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former Tory cabinet minister who has not defected to Reform UK but who would like the Tories and Reform to form some sort of electoral pact, has said that if Kemi Badenoch has clear evidence that Robert Jenrick was about to defect, she should publish it.
Speaking on the World at One, he said:
If the evidence is there, they should definitely publish it. I think that makes Kemi’s position extremely strong.
If it’s true that Robert was planning to defect and was planning to do so in a way that was damaging to the party, then removing the whip and removing him from a shadow cabinet is a reasonable thing for a party leader to have done.
If there isn’t any evidence for that, it’s an over-reaction, and I think it strengthens Kevin’s position if she reveals the evidence that exists.
In an interview earlier, Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, said he had seen evidence that Jenrick was planning to defect in a “treacherous” way. (See 12.31pm.) It has been reported that this evidence was a draft resignation speech, but Hollinrake did not confirm that.
Given that the draft resignation speech is thought to be damning about Badenoch, then it is not hard to see why CCHQ is not publishing it on its social media account.
My colleague Jessica Elgot says the text was also damning about some of Jenrick’s colleagues.
Party sources say that Jenrick’s planned resignation speech included vicious criticism of shadow cabinet colleagues, including Priti Patel and Mel Stride.
In the past there has been speculation that Jenrick could defect to Reform UK in return for a promise that he would be chancellor in a Nigel Farage-led government. The fact that he has been sacked today makes this less likely, because his joining would no longer be a PR coup for Farage, and so he has lost much of the leverage he had to negotiate a decent job in return for switching.
Jenrick argues that the last Tory government failed on immigration, and so it is not surprising that his draft resignation speech included a passage criticising Priti Patel, who was home secretary when legal immigration soared.
The fact that he was also planning to criticise Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, may confirm suspicions that he fancies himself as a potential Reform chancellor. In a New Statesman article on Jenrick’s defection, Will Lloyd says:
Jenrick had told friends in recent weeks that he thought Reform lacked a viable economic spokesperson and an eventual shadow chancellor.
Updated
George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, says that, if Kemi Badenoch thinks that sacking Robert Jenrick will end the Tory psychodrama (see 11.11am), she is wrong. Speaking on the latest edition of his Political Currency podcast this morning, recorded as the news was breaking, he said:
Is Kemi Badenoch forcing [Jenrick’s] hand or has her hand been forced because he’d already made his decision? She’s certainly saying she’d seen evidence he was about to defect. Then that is the proper beginning of the civil war inside [the] right about who is going to lead the right.
And what are Tory MPs going to do? Are they going to defect to Reform? Is the pressure going to grow to have an alliance with Reform? Or are they going to say, look, the Jenricks of this world can leave, but we think the future lies with the Tory party …
If [Badenoch] thinks the psychodrama is over, I’m afraid it’s just beginning.
James Heale from the Spectator says some Reform UK members are not all thrilled about the prospect of Robert Jenrick joining the party.
Some unhappiness within Reform at the prospect of a Jenrick defection.
One councillor says: “While I personally like Jenrick. I can’t see how he could be defecting if Nigel had called him a fraud and said he wasn’t to be trusted. [See 1.15pm.]
“Yes, I think he could be an asset to Reform. But I cannot for the life of me understand why Nigel would be entertaining a man he personally called a fraud.
“It makes us look ridiculous. It’s bad enough when someone defects and has had a pop at Nigel or Reform previously, but it’s worse when it’s the other way round.”
'This man is a fraud' - what Farage said about Jenrick less than five months ago
While Nigel Farage did not rule out accepting Robert Jenrick as a defector at his press conference this morning, he also suggested that Jenrick’s record in government might be a problem for him (see 11.38am) – although Reform UK has been happy to take other former Tories associated with policy failure.
But, only last summer, Farage was attacking Jenrick on social media because of his record as an immigration minister. “This man is a fraud, this man is not to be trusted,” Farage said in this video.
When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025
He is no friend of Epping. pic.twitter.com/E6HMry5AOX
Around the same time, Farage also posted this on X.
Jenrick is a fraud. I’ve alway thought so, this quote proves it. pic.twitter.com/pMcuhe88mw
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 18, 2025
Keith Girling, a Conservative councillor on Nottinghamshire county councils representing a ward in Robert Jenrick’s Newark constituency, told PA Media he felt “totally betrayed” by the MP. He said:
I’m obviously very, very, very disappointed in Robert. I’m a great believer in loyalty and he’s shown a complete lack of loyalty there.
I think Kemi has done absolutely the right thing when she finds evidence of what he’s plotting to do. She’s shown real leadership there to sack him, kick him out of the party, and we’ll deal with the aftermath.
And this is what Keir Starmer’s press secretary has said about Robert Jenrick at the lobby briefing this morning.
Robert Jenrick was the immigration minister in a government that presided over an open borders experiment, a health minister who left people stuck on waiting lists, and a Treasury minister during the worst decline in living standards on record.”
While Reform continues to welcome failed Tory retreads, this Labor government is putting the country back on track.
Starmer accuses Badenoch of 'weakness', saying Jenrick should have been sacked months ago for 'toxic' comments
Keir Starmer has said that Kemi Badenoch should have sacked Robert Jenrick long ago for his “toxic” comments. On a visit in Scotland, Starmer said:
My question is: why did it take so long? Jenrick has been making toxic comments to try and divide our country for months, and months, and months, but it’s only now, when he’s on the verge of defecting to Reform, that Badenoch gets around to sacking him. So, that’s weakness on her part.
(For examples of what Starmer meant when he was talking about Jenrick’s “toxic” politics, you could start by reading his Tory conference speech this autumn.)
Referring to in general to Tory MPs defecting to Reform UK, Starmer said:
There’s a bigger story here, because we’re seeing a flood of Tory politicians, ex-politicians, going across to Reform because they know that the Tory party is a sinking ship.
Equally, from Reform’s point of view, you’ve got Nigel Farage who is welcoming these failed politicians into his ranks and building his party as a party of the Tory politicians who let the country down so badly.
There are now at least 24 former Tory MPs in Reform UK. There is a list of 20 of them here, and since it was published Ben Bradley and Zahawi have defected. The list does not include two Reform UK MPs, Lee Anderson and Danny Kruger, who were both first elected as Tories.
Labour chair says Badenoch has 'lost control of party' - while Labour MP praises her 'strong leadership' sacking Jenrick
Anna Turley, the Labour chair, says the sacking of Robert Jenrick shows that Kemi Badenoch has “lost control of her party”. In a statement she says:
This is just the latest sad soap opera episode from a chaotic Conservative party that is sliding deeper and deeper into irrelevance.
Kemi Badenoch was too weak to sack Robert Jenrick when he complained about not seeing white faces in Birmingham. She defended him over his disgusting comments while he was plotting to defect. That tells you everything you need to know about her judgment.
Badenoch has lost control of her party and the architects of 14 years of Tory failure are now scuttling off to inflict their same chaos through Farage’s Reform. With 23 ex-Tory MPs now swelling Nigel Farage’s ranks already, and apparently Jenrick to come, it’s clear that Reform are just a shop front for failed Conservatives that wrecked public services and made people poorer.
But the Labour MP Karl Turner has posted a message on social media saying the opposite.
Strong determined leadership. Well done @KemiBadenoch the Tories are better served without threats of defection from the likes of @RobertJenrick. I thank Robert for what he’s done to try to defeat the governments ludicrous proposals on juries but his politics generally are awful.
In Labour terms, Turner is an outlier. He is currently leading a backbench revolt against the government’s plans to restrict access to jury trials.
Updated
'Treacherous' Jenrick motivated to defect by 'personal ambition', Tory chair Kevin Hollinrake says
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory chair, is being interviewed on the BBC about the sacking of Robert Jenrick. Asked what the evidence was of Jenrick’s disloyalty, Hollinrake says he cannot say, but he insists he has seen the evidence. It came from Jenrick “inner circle”, he says.
He says Jenrick was “treacherous”. He “didn’t take losing the leadership contest well”, he says
(It has been reported that Kemi Badenoch got hold of a copy of a draft of Jenrick’s resignation speech. See 11.50am.)
He says he thinks “personal ambition” was Jenrick’s motive.
Q: When Nadhim Zahawi defected, the party said that Reform UK was a refuge for has-been politicians. Is that what you think of Jenrick?
Hollinrake says he thinks Zahawi also defected out of personal ambition. He says Zahawi had several times asked for a peerage, and been turned down.
Q: Do you think Jenrick was going to defect at the Reform UK press conference in Westminster scheduled for this afternoon?
Hollinrake says it was clear that Jenrick was planning to defect “in the near future”.
Nigel Farage himself said categorically that he was not planning to announce Jenrick’s defection at the 4.30pm press conference. (See 11.38am.) It is thought that Farage plans to use it to announce Reform UK is going to judicial review to challenge the government’s decision to delay some council elections. (See 9.37am.)
Jenrick 'completely out of his depth' as minister, former Tory government colleague claims
The former Tory minister Tim Loughton has become one of the first Conservatives to put the boot in to Robert Jenrick on social media. In a post on X, he says:
Dealt with Jenrick a lot as Immigration Minister whilst negotiating amendments to Immigration Bill. He invariably had to defer to officials completely out of his depth then flounced off claiming he couldn’t get his own way on reducing immigration rather than staying and fighting.
Evidence that Jenrick about to defect 'totally irrefutable', Tories say
This is what a Tory source told PA Media about Robert Jenrick being sacked.
We have had lots of reports coming in that he was meeting with Reform. He went for dinner with Nigel Farage last month, he had been speaking to people within Westminster about the possibility of a defection.
His team has spoken to various people, including journalists, about defection.
Kemi doesn’t take decisions lightly, she thinks about these things, she analyses things properly. But the evidence was just totally irrefutable that this was going to be done to inflict maximum pain on the party.
Rebecca Harris, the Tory chief whip, was the person who told Robert Jenrick this morning that he was being sacked from the shadow cabinet and suspended from the party, Ben Riley-Smith reports at the Telegraph. Kemi Badenoch did not speak to Jenrick herself.
Farage claims he will announce Labour defection next week
At his press conference in Scotland, Nigel Farage was asked if any Reform UK members objected to Tories joining the party.
He replied:
The worries I get from within Reform are, one, will they bring Tory infighting with them? Because we had four and a half years of psychodrama with that last Conservative government? They fought each other in public, they fought each other in private. And so if people want to bring that with them, they’re not wanted by our membership, they’re not wanted by our board, and they’re not wanted by me.
And secondly, you know, we will not be a Tory party 2.0 because we have a completely different set of policies and people [who join] have to say they admit that net zero, mass migration, North Sea taxes and many other things were a terrible mistake. They have to make real mea culpas.
But Farage went on:
I’ll have a Labour defection next week and that’ll change the script.
At his press conference in Scotland Nigel Farage has just said, “hand on heart”, that Robert Jenrick was not planning to join Reform “in the next 24 hours”.
These are from Steven Swinford, the Times’ politcal editor, on the Jenrick sacking.
Nigel Farage is said to have been in talks with Robert Jenrick for weeks if not months
We picked up rumours of a lunch between them in December that was heavily denied by both sides at the time
It sounds like Kemi Badenoch’s team got hold of a copy of Robert Jenrick’s resignation speech after it was left ‘lying around’. It was a ‘near final’ text
He cancelled a speaking engagement this weekend, and the thinking was that he was due to announce his defection in the next 24 hours
The Tories were also aware that he met Nigel Farage in December. One source said that the meeting took place in Parliament
It doesn’t sound like either Reform UK or Robert Jenrick knew this was coming
Kemi Badenoch appears to have caught them by complete surprise
She was said to be furious that Jenrick came to shadow cabinet on Tuesday and behaved as if nothing was going on
Jenrick is also said to have sat through a shadow cabinet away day last week and taken copious notes about the party’s strategy
Farage said that he regarded Robert Jenrick as part of the Tory failure on immigration. But the “one big tig” in his favour for Reform UK was the fact that he resigned from Rishi Sunak’s government, Farage said.
Farage claims Badenoch 'panicked', and that Reform UK was not planning to unveil Jenrick as defector later today
Farage says he was not planning to unveil Robert Jenrick as a defector at his press confence in Westminster this afternoon.
Asked to confirm that he had been speaking to Jenrick about defecting, Farage says he has already confirmed that.
He says he thinks Kemi Badenoch “panicked” and he implies she thought Jenrick was going to defect this afternoon.
I suspect she’s added up two and two and made five. I can confirm – hand on heart, honestly, look you in the eye – I was not going to be unveiling Robert Jenrick at 430 this afternoon.
Asked if Jenrick was planning to defect to Reform UK, Farage jokes that he could have been planning to defect to the Liberal Democrats.
But he says he has been speaking to many senior Tories about possible defections.
He says he welcomes defectors from other parties. But he also says the “sheer level of failures of 14 years, of broken manifesto commitments” can be be a problem.
He says he will give Jenrick a call later this afternoon.
Updated
Farage says 'of course' he has spoken to Jenrick, but Jenrick not 'on verge' of signing up to Reform
Nigel Farage, speaking at his press conference in Scotland, has said that “of course” he has had conversations with Robert Jenrick, who was sacked by Kemi Badenoch this morning for planning to defect.
UPDATE: Farage said:
I have had conversations with a number of very senior conservatives over the course of the last week, the last month. A lot of them realise that for all the talk on 8 May the Conservative Party will cease to be a national party. They will be obliterated in Scotland, Wales, the red wall councils.
As far as Mr Jenrick is concerned, of course I have talked to Robert Jenrick. Was I on the verge of signing him up? No. But we have had conversations.
Updated
Badenoch says Jenrick wanted his defection to be 'most damaging' to Tory party
Here is the text of Kemi Badenoch’s video statement about Robert Jenrick.
This morning I removed the Conservative whip from Robert Jenrick after dismissing him from the shadow cabinet.
I was very sorry to be presented with clear, irrefutable evidence, not just that he was preparing to defect, but he was planning to so in the most damaging way to the Conservative party and shadow cabinet colleagues.
It is my responsibility to protect our party and faced with that information I took the only decision that any responsible leader could because the British public are tired of political psychodrama …
When I was elected leader, I committed to doing politics differently.
Disloyalty and dishonesty undermine trust in politics. They are also disrespectful to our party members, our councillors and MPs and most of all voters. You all deserve better.
The Conservatives suffered a heavy defeat in 2024. That was painful. But we are rebuilding with strong principles, clean plans and a serious team united around a shared purpose.
When individuals choose to walk away from that effort for personal ambition, that tells you nothing about the Conservative party and everything you need to know about them.
There will be more to say, and I know a lot of commentary, about this decision.
But I want you all to be in no doubt that, at a time of global uncertainty, I am focused on holding the government to account, ensuring they are acting in the national interest and that Conservatives deliver a proper plan for a stronger economy, stronger borders and a stronger Britain.
Updated
Badenoch says Robert Jenrick was planning to defect. She does not say to which party, but it is likely to have been Reform UK. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, had scheduled a press conference in Westminster this afternoon, and Reform did not tell us what it was for.
Kemi Badenoch sacks Robert Jenrick for 'plotting to defect'
Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, for plotting to defect.
She has posted this on social media.
I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.
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.
Updated
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is holding is press conference in Scotland. There is a live feed here.
Streeting ‘shocked’ police chief behind Maccabi Tel Aviv ban still in post
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said he would be “horrified” if the chief constable of West Midlands police remains in his post “by the end of the day”, describing his behaviour as a “stain on his character”. Neha Gohil has the story.
Liz Kendall welcomes Elon Musk acting to stop Grok creating sexualised deepfakes, and thanks those who spoke out
Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, has welcomed the news that Elon Musk’s X announced it had stopped its Grok AI tool from letting users, including for premium subscribers, digitally undress images of women and children.
As Sky News reports, Kendall said:
I welcome this move from X, though I will expect the facts to be fully and robustly established by Ofcom’s ongoing investigation.
Our Online Safety Act is and always has been about keeping people safe on social media - especially children - and it has given us the tools to hold X to account in recent days.
I also want to thank those who have spoken out against this abuse, above all the victims. I shall not rest until all social media platforms meet their legal duties and provide a service that is safe and age appropriate to all users.
We will continue to stand up for British values and to uphold the laws of this land.
Here is the announcement about the news from X.
And here is our story about it, by Robert Booth and Dara Kerr.
Updated
UK economy grew by better-than-expected 0.3% in November despite budget uncertainty
The UK economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in November despite uncertainty around Rachel Reeves’s budget, official figures show. Heather Stewart has the story.
Streeting welcomes second biggest monthly drop in hospital waiting lists in England in 15 years
NHS England says November saw “the second biggest drop in the waiting list for 15 years outside of the early days of the pandemic”.
As PA Media reports, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen to its lowest level since early 2023. PA says:
An estimated 7.31 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of November 2025, relating to 6.17 million patients, down from 7.40 million treatments and 6.24 patients at the end of October.
The number of treatments waiting to be carried out is now at its lowest level since February 2023, when it stood at 7.22 million.
The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.
Commenting on the figures, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said:
For too long, patients were promised change in the NHS but saw little of it. This government is turning promises into change people can actually feel.
Waiting lists are down by more than 312,000 and more patients are being treated within 18 weeks. November saw the second biggest monthly drop in waiting lists in 15 years. That means faster care, less anxiety for families and people back on their feet and back to work.
Steve Reed claims elections to 'zombie councils' pointless, as at least 22 authorities request elections delay for May
Good morning. Before Christmas the government announced that 63 councils in England (there is a full list of them here) would be asked if they wanted to postpone local elections due in May. They are all in areas where local government is being reorganised, and the government said, because reorganisation takes up time and money, some of them might find running elections at the same time difficult. Alison McGovern, the local government minister, wrote to council leaders saying they had until midnight on 15 January (tonight) to reply. The government will take the final decision, but McGovern said, if councils request a delay, it will be minded to agree.
Most councils have now taken a decision and a BBC survey says that 23 of them have decided to ask for a delay, and 34 will let the elections go ahead as planned. The other seven have not said. Max Kendix from the Times has done the same exercise and he says, by the end of the day, he expects 27 councils to have come out in favour of a delay – and ministers to approve all 27 of those applications. He says:
The councils cover more than 5.2 million people and 3.7 million registered voters who will no longer get to choose their local councillors this year.
Almost 600 councillors, including just under 200 Labour councillors, will not have to defend their seat this year. Two thirds of the Labour councils which were asked whether they wanted to delay chose to say that they did, compared with just under a third of Tories.
This is in line with what the Daily Telegraph found when it carried out a survey last week.
The Conservatives have strongly criticised the decision to allow elections to be postponed and, according to the Telegraph, Reform UK plans to try using a judicial review to ensure all the elections have to go ahead. Nigel Farage’s party is currently doing very well in local council byelections, and so it is no surprise that he wants as many people to vote in the May council elections as possible.
The Telegraph has also launched a campaign to scrap the clause in the Local Government Act 2000 that allows ministers to delay elections using secondary legislation. Before that, if ministers wanted to postpone elections, they needed an act of parliament, which is much harder to pass.
But, in an article for the Times, Steve Reed, the housing, communities and local government secretary, has defended the decision to allow councils to delay elections. He argues that the reorganistion is essential and that councillors could be elected in May for local authorties that would soon cease to exist anyway.
He says “running a series of elections for short-lived zombie councils will be costly, time consuming and will take scarce resources away from frontline services like fixing potholes and social care”.
He also accuses the opposition parties of being hypocritical, or self-interested.
The Conservatives, who themselves delayed elections in North Yorkshire, Somerset, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, are confused.
On the one hand they won’t stand in the way if their local leaders want delays, but on the other they accuse Labour of being “scared of voters”.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, called delays a “breach of human rights” despite his party requesting one in Cheltenham. And of course Reform UK, who will take any issue and try to use it to benefit themselves, regardless of whether it will benefit the public.
They want pointless elections, Labour wants to fix potholes. Outside of Westminster it’s obvious what’s more important.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly hospital performance figures.
11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, holds a press conference in Scotland where he will say who’s been chosen as the party’s leader in Scotland.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Morning: Keir Starmer is on an energy-related visit in Scotland with Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary.
Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in Edinburgh, where she will be joined by Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, and Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scottish secretary.
4.30pm: Farage holds a press conference in London.
And Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is on a visit to the Arctic Circle region of Norway.
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