So Robert Jenrick is the surprise defection from the Conservatives to Reform. This I must admit is a far more welcome defection to Reform than that of the shifty seeming former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi whose defection to Reform caused consternation among many Reform supporters online in large part due to Zahawi’s Covid vaccination authoritarianism.
Mr Jenrick will be a great asset to Reform providing that is that he doesn’t fall foul of Nigel Farage’s habit of chopping down the tall poppies who might pose a challenge to his leadership. We shall wait and see what happens there. I might be wrong and Mr Farage might be a lot more collegiate than he has been or at least I hope he is.
Mr Jenrick has become increasingly out of place in a Tory party that is still heavily dominated by MP’s whose views make them seem as if they’d be more happier in the Lib Dems than in a conservative leaning party. The sort of voices that have been raised against Mr Jenrick from within the Conservative Party tell a story of how the Lib Dems in Tory rosettes are angry that Mr Jenrick has decided to abandon the Tories. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s sacking of pre-emptively sacking Mr Jenrick fell flat and at a press conference by the new Reform MP Mr Jenrick he showed that he could handle a hostile press corps very well indeed.
Mr Jenrick has, whilst in the Tory party, been more willing to say the stuff about migration and social cohesion that the Tory party might not be comfortable with saying and he will be a good fit for Reform on this aspect at least. He will bring political combativeness to Reform that is sorely needed and unlike some Reform MP’s and activists has a good working knowledge of how the political system works and how potential roadblocks by activist Civil Servants might be managed and countered.
With Mr Jenrick’s defection to Reform a great deal of political weight has been added to the party and this might bode well for the future. Mr Jenrick’s decision to change parties and abandon a party that is now conservative in name only, despite Ms Badenoch’s efforts to change that, has now made Reform’s politics very interesting indeed and not just interesting in the old Chinese proverb sense.
I’ve admired Mr Jenrick’s ability and gumption when it comes to airing difficult subjects and I hope that he brings these talents to his new political home.