It was striking to read about Kemi Badenoch’s dismissal of Robert Jenrick from the Conservative party, which included quotes attributed to Westminster insiders (‘Not so clever after all’: how Robert Jenrick was ejected before he defected, 15 January).
“We knew we had to act immediately. If we challenged him first, there was a risk of him going straight out and doing it anyway”; “Badenoch left it to her chief whip, Rebecca Harris, to phone Jenrick, a move which one ally described as ‘delicious’”; “Jenrick’s clever-dick people, they’re not so clever after all”; “She’s blown him up with his own grenade, very decisive, no pissing about, fair play to her”.
This language is revealing of where the priorities of the Westminster workforce appear to lie – I do not notice such textured enthusiasm when discussing Northern Powerhouse Rail or fouling of our waterways. To this voter, it suggests there is ample time and eagerness for playground politicking and gossip, but less for debating legislation or addressing constituents’ problems.
It is time for the political profession to be properly regulated; perhaps a randomly selected citizens’ assembly could intervene when a member of the Westminster workforce fails to adhere to the Nolan principles of public life.
Madhan Street
Liverpool
• Nadhim Zahawi claims that the UK needs a “glorious revolution” and that only a Nigel Farage-led government can prevent “civil unrest” (Nadhim Zahawi failed in bid for peerage from Tories before Reform defection, sources say, 13 January). This phraseology echoes demands for authoritarian leadership down the ages, reaching its apotheosis in the support given by traditional conservatives to Mussolini and Hitler.
It would be too easy to dismiss the attraction of a discredited opportunist to a populist chancer as an example of Marx’s dictum of history repeating itself as farce. With Jenrick now jumping ship and doubtless more to follow, the danger of a Tory/Reform governing alliance after the next election grows. This prospect should concentrate the minds of Labour, Lib Dem, Green and progressive nationalist politicians on working together to ensure it can never happen.
Dr Anthony Isaacs
London
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