Kemi Badenoch has emerged stronger from Robert Jenrick's defection to Reform UK, according to Conservative MPs. The party leader pre-empted Jenrick's move by sacking him as shadow justice minister and removing the Tory whip, forcing him to play catch-up with a delayed press conference.
One shadow minister said: 'Historically, the party has suffered from two weaknesses: too many people trying to bring down the leader, and not enough leaders getting rid of those people. Hopefully now we’re all pulling in the same direction.' Another added: 'It cemented Kemi’s position as a robust leader, but it also showed that members – and probably the country – don’t like traitors.'
Tory sources claim that extracts of Jenrick's defection speech were leaked by Badenoch's office, causing him to make last-minute changes. An MP linked with Reform said: 'What Robert did looks really blatant and cunning. People really hate that. And the personal attacks on colleagues were really classless.'
While polling shows Tory support rising to around 20%, Badenoch's standing with MPs and members has improved since her conference speech and response to the budget. One MP noted: 'At least 40 people have, separately, mentioned the budget speech to me. It’s amazing how little infighting there is.'
