Why Kemi Badenoch has finally given Robert Jenrick the boot after months of Tory power struggle
A.Kemi Badenoch said she was “very sorry” to have to sack the shadow justice secretary as she made the shocking announcement that she had sacked Robert Jenrick.
But few close to him will miss the man who was long seen as his thorn in the side.
Their relationship has been fraught with tension since their battle to lead the Conservative Party just 14 months ago.
Ms Badenoch emerged victorious, albeit by a narrow margin of 56 per cent among Tory supporters.
Since then he has faced constant speculation about Mr Jenrick’s ambitions; He was struggling to establish himself while the man he defeated made headlines with eye-catching displays and was rumored to be plotting to topple him or defect to Nigel Farage’s Reformation UK.
Independent He understands that these two, who both have strong personalities, brought this up in a conversation they had before Christmas.
Sources close to Ms Badenoch say at this stage Mr Jenrick has denied joining Mr Farage’s party. But as a result of that meeting, senior figures around Ms Badenoch became convinced that she was at least planning a bid for the Conservative Party leadership.
Those close to Ms Badenoch say she was fired on Thursday after seeing “completely irrefutable” evidence that Mr Jenrick was planning to defect to Reform UK. As well as reports that she met with Reform and had dinner with Mr Farage last month, they claim they had a copy of her resignation speech in the last 24 hours and that is why Ms Badenoch moved out.
They now believe he is considering two options: to replace him as leader or, failing that, to join the Reformation.
But his supporters claim the real reason for his sacking is that they are planning a leadership challenge against Ms Badenoch after the May election, which is expected to be disastrous for the Conservatives.
Independent He had approached Ms Badenoch’s office this week after seeing evidence of his leadership bid and Mr Jenrick’s allies were drafting the letters of no confidence needed to trigger a Conservative Party leadership contest. A Jenrick ally said: Independent: “This is just a move to eliminate Robert.”
It has long been true that there was little love lost between the two.
In June, Independent As the party desperately tries to raise the profile of the beleaguered Ms Badenoch, it has emerged that her videos, including a spectacular display of her chasing and challenging fare dodgers on London trains, have angered other senior Conservatives.
This clip, which followed on the heels of others on various topics including litter collections in Birmingham, has been viewed more than 10 million times.
At the time, Badenoch’s allies downplayed the threat to his position, insisting that he had no time to micromanage members of his senior team and wanted them to use their initiative to sell the Conservative Party message. But Ms Badenoch’s problems were obvious and it wasn’t helped by Mr Jenrick standing on the sidelines.
His weight loss since the leadership contest has led to increased speculation about his ambitions, while his formidable wife, Michal Berkner, a powerful corporate lawyer, is said to be reading online comments about him at home to motivate him.
Ms Badenoch has weathered a difficult conference season marked by a lack of energy and enthusiasm from corporate sponsors and even Tory members.
Conservative MPs also began to despair at their leader’s performance at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). He often struggled to strike a blow against a Labor Party that trailed Reform in the polls. Those in the background started complaining to each other that their questions were often out of date, as if they were written after the previous week’s PMQs, and Sir Keir was let off the hook.
But Ms Badenoch’s performance has improved markedly in recent weeks and she has had a string of good weeks against the prime minister. It has set the political agenda on a number of key issues, such as a call for a ban on social media for under-16s, leaving Labor struggling to respond.
Yet concerns remained over Mr Jenrick’s ambitions and the growing number of defectors from the Conservative Party to Reform, with Mr Farage announcing the former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi as his new member on Monday.
But today’s announcement risks being a win not for Ms Badenoch but for her great rival Nigel Farage. The Reform UK leader appears to have managed to destabilize the Tory party without having to accept Mr Jenrick as a potential leadership candidate regardless of which party he joins.
Whatever the final outcome, Ms Badenoch will at least be glad she no longer has to answer questions about Robert Jenrick’s plans.
