The Conservative Party has placed 11 of its MPs on a defection watch list amid fears that more could follow Robert Jenrick to Reform UK. The list, drawn up before Jenrick's defection and seen by The Independent, includes former ministers and veteran MPs such as Suella Braverman, Sir John Hayes, Mark Francois, Esther McVey, Andrew Rosindell, and Sir Desmond Swayne. Also included are MPs from the 2024 intake—Katie Lam, Bradley Thomas, and Lewis Cocking—as well as shadow ministers Matt Vickers and Joy Morrissey.
Kemi Badenoch sacked Jenrick from her shadow cabinet on Thursday after his plot to defect was uncovered. She branded him a “liar” who cannot be trusted and accused him of wanting to “burn the Conservative Party to the ground.” She insisted his departure would bring stability, but aides are concerned that Nigel Farage’s call for defectors to join by 7 May could trigger further exits.
Former Tory cabinet minister Michael Gove warned that Jenrick’s reputation would be scarred by his “treachery.” One senior Tory figure said: “The party is in a fight for its survival. If these MPs all defect by 7 May, then it is pretty much game over.” The party leadership admitted it was “completely blindsided” by Jenrick’s move, adding: “We just don’t know who, what, where next with the defections.”
The watch list covers almost the entire membership of the right-wing Common Sense Group within the Tories. However, Badenoch claimed that “pretty much all of Rob’s former supporters have come to me and said sorry” after his defection. She told The Times: “We have been destabilised for too long, the traitors are Farage’s problem now, not mine.”
Jenrick denied personal ambition was behind his decision and said he hoped Thursday would be remembered as “a time when the right united.” He told the BBC he had no idea how many colleagues would follow him, adding: “That’s ultimately a decision for them.” Most of the 11 MPs contacted by The Independent denied any plans to defect, but one Tory insider noted: “Jenrick showed us that people deny they are defecting until they actually defect.”
