In a move that has sent shockwaves through British politics, former Conservative shadow minister Robert Jenrick has officially joined Reform UK, just hours after being sacked by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for allegedly plotting to defect to Nigel Farage’s rising party. The announcement, made at a press conference in Westminster on January 15, 2026, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing realignment of the British right, as more Conservative figures jump ship to join Farage’s ranks.
Jenrick’s defection did not come quietly. He took the stage alongside Farage and delivered a searing critique of his former party, declaring, “Britain has been in decline. Britain is in decline. Both Labour and the Conservatives broke Britain. And both are now dominated by those without the competence or backbone needed to fix it.” According to The Independent, Jenrick insisted that he had no ambitions to lead Reform UK, stating, “Whatever the bookies say about being leader of the Tory party, I’ve done it because I think Nigel is the man to lead this country.” He emphasized, “I want Nigel to be prime minister.”
The fallout began earlier in the day when Badenoch announced Jenrick’s sacking, removal of the party whip, and suspension of his Conservative membership. She cited “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.” Speaking to the BBC, Badenoch was blunt: “It is not a blow to lose someone who lies to his colleagues. 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.”
Jenrick’s move follows the recent defection of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and comes amid a broader exodus of Conservative politicians to Reform UK. In fact, Jenrick is now the second sitting Tory MP to switch to Farage’s party, which has been steadily climbing in national opinion polls. According to BBC News, about 20 former Tory MPs have defected to Reform UK in recent months, although only one had been a sitting MP at the time of their defection before Jenrick. Other high-profile names who have joined the Reform ranks include Danny Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire, who made the switch in September 2025, and Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, who joined in March 2024 after having the Conservative whip suspended.
The drama surrounding Jenrick’s departure was heightened by reports from Conservative sources. One shadow cabinet minister told the BBC that Jenrick had left a printed copy of his resignation speech “lying around, like something from The Thick Of It.” Another senior Conservative MP close to Badenoch claimed to have seen a “full speech and media plan” for his defection, reinforcing suspicions that the move was carefully orchestrated for maximum impact. It’s also been revealed that Jenrick and Farage had dinner together in December 2025 and had been in talks for months leading up to the January 15 announcement.
Nigel Farage, never one to miss an opportunity for political theater, thanked Badenoch for what he called “the latest Christmas present I’ve ever had.” He told reporters, “The only rule I have as leader is that we have our disagreements, we have our arguments, we have our rows behind closed doors. People in politics who have disputes in public with me generally don’t tend to do terribly well.” Farage also insisted that he had not offered Jenrick a title, position, or money, and that Jenrick’s move was out of conviction rather than ambition. “Nobody leaves a party which they’re the bookies’ favourite to be leader out of ambition. You do this out of conviction,” Jenrick said at the press conference, as reported by The Independent.
Despite the high-profile nature of his defection, Jenrick announced that he would not be calling a by-election or standing as a Reform candidate in his constituency. “I don’t intend to call a by-election,” he said, citing the Westminster system, which allows MPs to change parties without seeking a new mandate from voters. He argued that his constituents supported him because of his independent-minded approach and his willingness to stand up for their interests.
The reaction from across the political spectrum was swift and pointed. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer criticized Badenoch’s delayed response, questioning why it took her so long to act on Jenrick’s alleged plotting. “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,” Starmer told the press. He added, “The flood of Conservative politicians going across to Reform UK shows the Tory party is a sinking ship. 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.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper was equally scathing, accusing Jenrick of hypocrisy for blaming the Conservative Party for Britain’s woes. “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. Reform and the Conservatives are two sides of the same coin,” Cooper said in a statement.
Within the Conservative Party, the mood is one of anxiety and introspection. Jenrick’s sacking and subsequent defection have been described as a pivotal moment for the future of the British right. Some Tory MPs fear that their party is being usurped by Reform UK, a sentiment echoed by Farage himself, who declared, “The reality is that we are replacing the Conservative Party as the opposition to the Labour government.” He even teased that a well-known Labour figure would soon be announced as another defector to Reform, signaling his ambitions to position his party as the main challenger to Labour.
Meanwhile, Badenoch moved quickly to fill Jenrick’s former position, appointing former Theresa May aide and West Suffolk MP Nick Timothy as her replacement in the shadow cabinet. She praised Timothy as “a true Conservative” and “formidable campaigner,” signaling her intent to steady the ship amid turbulent waters.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the defection of Robert Jenrick to Reform UK is more than just a personal career move—it’s a sign of deeper fractures within the Conservative Party and a shifting landscape on the British right. With Reform UK gaining momentum and attracting figures from across the political spectrum, the next chapter of British politics promises to be anything but predictable.
