Michael Gove has warned that Robert Jenrick's reputation will be permanently scarred by 'treachery' following his defection to Reform UK. The former Conservative cabinet minister, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, described himself as a 'cautionary tale' and said Jenrick's scathing attack on his former party would inflict lasting damage.
Gove compared the move to his own betrayal of Boris Johnson in 2016, when he sabotaged Johnson's first Tory leadership challenge by announcing his own ill-fated bid. He said that decision led to him being seen as a traitor to this day, and the same fate would befall Jenrick. 'Irrespective of what I have done in government, the most striking moment in my career was in 2016,' Gove said. 'In the eyes of most people at the time, and continuing to this day, it didn't matter what my reasons were: the overall impression was of treachery.'
Gove also suggested that the allegations of plotting surrounding Jenrick's defection risk turning Reform into a political version of Slytherin house from the Harry Potter novels. 'There's a danger that rather than seeming as a fresh force determined to clean up politics, they look rather more like Slytherin house, they look rather more like the home of those that are the intriguers,' he said.
He added that Jenrick likely defected because he concluded Kemi Badenoch had cemented her position as Conservative leader, killing off his own ambition. 'If Rob thought he had a chance of becoming leader because the local elections or other events would undermine Kemi, I think he would have stayed,' Gove said. 'His conclusion was that Kemi was in a stronger position.'
Badenoch announced she was sacking Jenrick from the shadow cabinet and suspending his party membership on Thursday. Reports suggest a mole in Jenrick's team passed on a draft of his resignation speech and media plan for the defection. Gove said the unfolding events gave the impression 'he was caught mid-plot'.
