Robert Jenrick defects to Reform after shock sacking and declares Farage is leader Britain needs

Robert Jenrick has defected to Reform UK after he was dramatically sacked from the Conservative front bench and kicked out of the Tory party.

Launching an extraordinary attack on his former colleagues at a press conference in Westminster, the former shadow justice secretary said the party had “betrayed its voters and members” and was “in denial – or being dishonest” about its record.

He said he was joining Reform UK because the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch had failed to change after their 2024 election wipeout, arguing that the country now needs Nigel Farage.

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“I can’t kid myself any more, he said, adding: “I can’t in good conscience stick with a party that’s failed so badly, that isn’t sorry and hasn’t changed, that I know in my heart won’t – can’t – deliver what’s needed.”

In a dramatic day in politics:

Mr Jenrick was welcomed at the London press conference by the Reform leader, who described the former shadow justice secretary’s defection as “a very big moment”.

His shock move to join the party came hours after Ms Badenoch took to social media to announce that she had sacked Mr Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership after claiming to have seen “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible” to the Conservatives.

Mr Farage thanked the Tory leader for bouncing Mr Jenrick into the decision and claimed that Reform UK will have another defection next week, this time from the Labour Party.

Addressing Ms Badenoch, the Reform leader said: “You’ve handed me on a plate the man that is by far the most popular figure, 60 per cent approval rating on ConHome … You’ve perhaps today, really done more than anybody in history to help realign the centre-right of British politics.”

Mr Farage accused Ms Badenoch of having “jumped the gun” by firing Mr Jenrick, claiming: “He wasn’t going to join today. He wasn’t going to join tomorrow. He wasn’t going to join next week ... I think on balance it’s 60:40 that he would have [joined at all] but you never know until the deal is signed and the hand is shaken.”

His remarks came just minutes after the Tories scrambled to publish “extracts” of a speech they say was the evidence of the planned defection to Reform UK.

According to the extracts, Mr Jenrick was planning to accuse the Tories and Labour of having “forfeited the right to govern”, arguing that the “mantle now passes to Reform”.

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It continues: “I am proud to become Reform’s 281,000th member. To back Nigel. And join this movement. I know in my heart it’s what’s right by our country. If, like me, you’ve backed another party but know it’s lost its way, don’t stay. Don’t stay in a party that hasn’t been loyal to you. When your country needs you.”

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We are in no doubt whatsoever about Jenrick’s involvement in the drafting of these words and his intention to stab his Conservative colleagues in the back.”

Announcing his sacking on Thursday morning, Ms Badenoch said: “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.

“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.”

Ms Badenoch later appointed Nick Timothy as shadow justice secretary to replace Mr Jenrick.

It brings an end to the pair’s long-running leadership rivalry, amid growing speculation Mr Jenrick had been planning to try to overthrow Ms Badenoch as Tory leader.

The Independent understands the two had it out in a conversation before Christmas, when sources close to Ms Badenoch say Mr Jenrick had denied he was defecting to Mr Farage’s party.

But his supporters claim the real reason he was sacked was that they were plotting a leadership challenge after the May elections, which are widely expected to be disastrous for the Tories.

The Independent had approached Ms Badenoch’s office this week after seeing evidence of a leadership push, and that Mr Jenrick’s allies were preparing the letters of no confidence needed to trigger a Tory leadership contest.

One ally of Mr Jenrick said: “This is just a move to take Robert out. There was no reason for him to defect. Many of us saw him as leader-elect. This could backfire badly on her.”

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Former Conservative cabinet minister Dominic Grieve denied that Mr Jenrick’s defection would weaken the Tories, instead saying his ousting could be the “first critical step on the path to recovery”.

“It is not weakening the Conservative Party at all, weak as it now is. It is ridding it of the incubus that has been destroying it,” he insisted. “It is potentially the first critical step on the path to recovery.”

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith wrote on X: “I came into politics from business. I know there’s no ‘I’ in team. In the face of the epic damage the socialists in Downing Street are doing, we are not short of reasons for [the] Conservatives to be united. Leadership involves laying down the line.”

Another former cabinet minister joked: “I think chances of a Conservative administration are growing by the day.”

Mr Jenrick’s defection comes just days after former Tory minister Nadhim Zahawi defected to Reform, the latest in a string of high-profile Conservative figures who have jumped ship, including Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Jonathan Gullis and Nadine Dorries.