Robert Jenrick, the former shadow justice secretary, defected to Nigel Farage's Reform UK on Thursday, branding the Conservatives a 'rotten' and 'failed' party. His move came hours after being sacked by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for allegedly plotting against her.
Jenrick, who stood against Badenoch in the Conservative leadership contest, said the party 'isn't sorry, it doesn't get it, it hasn't changed, it won't change, it can't change'. He accused both Labour and the Conservatives of having 'broken Britain' during a joint press conference with Farage in Westminster.
Badenoch removed the Conservative whip and suspended Jenrick's party membership after finding what she called 'irrefutable evidence' of his planned defection. She appointed Nick Timothy as the new shadow justice secretary. Jenrick admitted he had resolved to leave the party by Thursday morning, and discussions with Reform had begun in September.
Jenrick singled out shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel for criticism, blaming them for welfare and migration failures. He confirmed he would not call a by-election in his Newark constituency. Farage said that after the 7 May local elections, Reform would reject further Tory defectors, and that Jenrick was 'in sackcloth and ashes' about his past decisions.
