Prime Minister had a good day as an apparent defection caused turmoil for both Conservatives and Reform
Sir Keir Starmer responded to Robert Jenrick’s apparent defection (Image: Getty)
A jubilant Sir Keir Starmer has spoken out after the apparent defection of top Tory Robert Jenrick caused turmoil for both the Conservatives and Reform. The Prime Minister called the Tories a “sinking ship” and said Reform had become a home for failed politicians.
Sir Keir responded after Kemi Badenoch said she had sacked Robert Jenrick as shadow justice secretary and kicked him out of the party due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect”. It meant she ruined what appeared to be a Reform plan to announce the defection itself, although Mr Jenrick has not confirmed that he was planning to switch. Sir Keir questioned why it took Mrs Badenoch “so long” to sack Mr Jenrick as the senior Tory faced accusations of defecting to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The Prime Minister told broadcasters during a visit to Scotland: “My question is: why did it take so long?
“Jenrick has been making toxic comments to try and divide our country for months, and months, and months, but it’s only now, when he’s on the verge of defecting to Reform, that Badenoch gets around to sacking him. So, that’s weakness on her part.
“There’s a bigger story here, because we’re seeing a flood of Tory politicians, ex-politicians, going across to Reform because they know that the Tory party is a sinking ship.
“Equally, from Reform’s point of view, you’ve got Nigel Farage who 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.”
A Conservative source said the now-former shadow justice secretary had met Mr Farage and had spoken about defecting to the insurgent party.
Mr Farage said he has “of course” had conversations with the senior frontbencher, and suggested he would speak to Mr Jenrick on Thursday.
Mr Jenrick has attracted speculation about leadership ambitions since being beaten in his bid to take over the party’s reins in 2024. He has repeatedly stepped out beyond his Shadow Cabinet brief.
Mrs Badenoch said on X: “I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama, and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this Government.
“I will not repeat those mistakes.”
Reacting to Mrs Badenoch’s announcement, Mr Farage insisted he was “very surprised” the news had broken and would “never reveal private conversations” as he spoke at a press conference in Edinburgh on Thursday.
But asked again whether he had been in talks with the former Tory frontbencher, he added: “Of course, I’ve talked to Robert Jenrick. Was I on the verge of signing a document with him? No. But have we had conversations? Yes.”
He added: “I think virtually every Conservative is considering leaving the Conservatives, yes.”
Asked if this included Mr Jenrick, he replied: “I think that’s been in his mind, yes. I’ve little doubt it’s been in his mind.
“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” the Reform UK leader also said, adding: “I might even buy him a pint.”
A Tory source told the Press Association that the party had received “lots of reports coming in that he [Mr Jenrick] was meeting with Reform”.
The source added: “He went for dinner with Nigel Farage last month, he had been speaking to people within Westminster about the possibility of a defection.
“His team has spoken to various people, including journalists, about defection.”
They added: “Kemi doesn’t take decisions lightly, she thinks about these things, she analyses things properly. But the evidence was just totally irrefutable that this was going to be done to inflict maximum pain on the party.”
