Badenoch claims ‘Britain is not broken’ in rebuke to Jenrick after Reform defection
Kemi Badenoch has slammed Robert Jenrick, who defected to Reform UK, insisting that Britain is “unbroken” and remains “one of the most successful countries in the world”.
The Conservative Party leader hit back at the former shadow justice secretary after describing Britain as “broken” at a press conference alongside Nigel Farage last Thursday.
Speaking to reporters after his departure was announced, Mr Jenrick blamed both the Conservatives and Labor for Britain’s economic decline and insisted only Reformation could fix it.
But in an article Daily TelegraphMs Badenoch sought to present a more positive message to voters about the future of the UK.
He wrote: “Ours remains one of the most successful, resilient and influential countries in the world. A country that has reinvented itself over and over again. A country whose people quietly go about their business while politicians argue.
“Telling them their country is over doesn’t strengthen the British people, it drags them down.”
He later added: “Yes, Britain’s problems are real and, in some cases, getting worse. But Britain is not broken. We are a great country with deep reserves of strength, talent and resilience.”
“What has failed is a system that too often rewards process over results, intervention over outcomes. Labour’s answer to every problem is another consultation, another scrutiny, another layer of state control. It doesn’t make people richer. It makes them poorer.”
Earlier this week Mr Jenrick said BBC He said his defection was to “unite the right” and insisted he was putting country ahead of his loyalty to the Conservative Party. He also denied that personal ambitions played a role in his involvement in the Reformation.
Mr Jenrick’s sudden departure came hours after Ms Badenoch sacked him as shadow justice secretary and suspended him from the Conservative Party, saying she had evidence he was planning to switch to Reform.
Mr Jenrick said although both he and Mr Farage had said his departure was not planned for Thursday. BBC He had “decided” to go during the Christmas break.
But the “final straw” came on a day outside the shadow cabinet last week; where he debated with other front-liners about whether Britain was “broken”.
Mr Jenrick argued that some of his colleagues agreed with him that Britain was broken, but that they could not say so publicly because the Conservatives were responsible for their 14 years in government.
During a visit to Aberdeen on Friday, Ms Badenoch ruled out any deal with Reform ahead of the next election.
“How do you make a deal with liars? How do you make a deal with people who have been telling things that are clearly not true not just for months, but for years?”
Labor leader Anna Turley also hit out at Mr Jenrick’s comments, claiming he was one of the arsonists who created chaos and decline in Britain while serving as a Conservative minister under the previous government.
