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Former Conservative shadow minister Robert Jenrick has announced his move to Reform UK, just hours after his dismissal by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. The dismissal followed allegations of Jenrick plotting a defection to Nigel Farage’s party.
Farage introduced Jenrick at a press conference, acknowledging Badenoch for expelling her former leadership rival, which he stated aided in “realigning the centre-right of British politics”.
Jenrick, in a scathing critique of his former party and colleagues, accused the Conservatives of having “broken” the country, labeling them as “rotten” and stating they had “betrayed its voters”.
Badenoch, speaking shortly before Jenrick’s announcement, characterized the situation as “a good day” for the Conservatives, stating that Jenrick was “now Nigel Farage’s problem”.
Jenrick becomes the second sitting Conservative MP, following Danny Kruger in September 2025, to defect to Farage’s party, which has consistently polled strongly in national opinion surveys in recent months.
This follows the earlier defection of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi this week, and around 20 former Tory MPs to Farage’s party, which now has six sitting MPs in the House of Commons.
Jenrick’s shift to Reform UK culminated a day that began with Badenoch’s public announcement of his dismissal from her shadow cabinet and suspension from the Conservative Party via video.
In the video, Badenoch stated, “I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his shadow cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.”
Initial silence from Jenrick followed, with BBC sources reporting that his plans were discovered after materials, including a draft defection speech, were found “lying around”.
At the Westminster press conference on Thursday afternoon, Farage stated he “had to think very quickly as to how I should respond to this”.
Farage clarified that while discussions with Jenrick had been ongoing for months, he had not intended to publicly present him as the party’s latest defector at the event.
He then thanked Badenoch for what he termed “the latest Christmas present I’ve ever had” before Jenrick joined him on stage, after a brief pause.
“It’s time for the truth,” Jenrick began his speech. “Britain has been in decline. Britain is in decline.”
He continued, “Both Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain. And both are now dominated by those without the competence or backbone needed to fix it.”
He accused the Conservatives of being in denial about the nation’s condition and singled out former shadow cabinet colleagues with personal criticisms.
He claimed shadow chancellor Mel Stride had “oversaw the explosion of the welfare bill” and “blocked the reforms needed” during his tenure as work and pensions secretary.
Jenrick asserted that Dame Priti Patel had allowed a “million migrants to come here,” labeling it “the greatest failure of any British government in the post-war period”.
Jenrick, who previously held positions as housing secretary and immigration minister, served alongside both Stride and Patel in Conservative governments under Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
While acknowledging his involvement in governments that had “failed so badly,” Jenrick stated he had been “let down” by Johnson and Sunak.
Responding to journalists’ inquiries, Jenrick stated that he had already “resolved to leave” the Conservatives prior to his dismissal, a decision he claimed to have “given a great deal of thought to over a very long time.”
He affirmed that he would not resign his seat to trigger a by-election in his Newark constituency and stand as a Reform UK candidate.
He also disclaimed any ambition to lead Reform UK, telling reporters “I want Nigel to be prime minister”.
Farage stated that Jenrick “will be joining our frontline team,” but did not specify his role.
The Reform UK leader declared that the local and national elections on 7 May represented a “deadline” after which no further Tory defections to Reform would be accepted.
It appears Jenrick was prompted into the move to Reform UK by Badenoch.
Minutes before Jenrick’s unveiling, Badenoch told the BBC: “I think the fact that Robert Jenrick was very happy to tell me just a few days ago he had no plans to defect while clearly plotting to do so and hurt his colleagues is not suitable for the Tory party.”
She added: “It is not a blow to lose someone who lies to his colleagues.”
“I think people can see that the only person that is telling the truth is me. I have a duty to protect my colleagues… and I have a duty to those who vote Conservative.”
“This has been a good day, bad people are leaving my party.”
Badenoch has appointed West Suffolk MP Nick Timothy, a former aide to Theresa May, as his replacement, praising him as “a true Conservative” and “formidable campaigner”.
Various Conservative sources have spoken to the BBC, offering differing accounts of the events. One shadow cabinet minister claimed Jenrick left a printed copy of his resignation speech “lying around, like something from The Thick Of It”.
This was corroborated by a senior Conservative MP close to Badenoch, who stated that they had obtained a “full speech and media plan” for his defection. Another Conservative source mentioned “material” that was left “lying around”.
This source told the BBC there was “plenty of evidence” Jenrick was getting closer to Reform and the defection was being planned “quite soon” and “in the most damaging way possible for the party”.
It is alleged Jenrick had dinner with Farage last month and his team had been speaking to “various people” about the possibility.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described Badenoch’s decision as a sign of “weakness” and questioned the delay in her response.
“Jenrick has been making toxic comments to try and divide our country for months and months and months and it’s only now, when he’s on the verge of defecting to Reform, that Badenoch gets round to sacking him,” he said.
Sir Keir characterized the “flood” of Conservative politicians joining Reform UK as indicative of a “Tory party is a sinking ship” and added: “Nigel Farage is welcoming these failed politicians into his ranks and building his party as a party of the Tory politicians who let the country down so badly.”
Jenrick’s dismissal and subsequent defection mark a significant juncture for the future of the British right wing, with genuine concerns among Conservative MPs that their party is being overtaken by Reform UK.
He finished second in the leadership election in 2024 and his creative use of social videos has only given him greater prominence since.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper MP stated that Jenrick “has an industrial-grade brass neck to be complaining about how broken Britain is, when it was him and his Conservative cronies who did such damage to our country and to trust and faith in politics”.
She added: “Reform and the Conservatives are two sides of the same coin.”
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