Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is taking decisive action to stabilise her party following the dramatic defection of former minister Robert Jenrick to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The political earthquake, which unfolded on Thursday 16 January 2026, saw the Newark MP cross the floor after being sacked from the shadow cabinet and expelled from the Tory party.
A Defection Forged in Secret
Mrs Badenoch announced the removal of the whip and Mr Jenrick's suspension from party membership in a post on social media platform X. She stated she had been presented with "clear, irrefutable evidence" that he was "plotting in secret to defect" in a manner designed to inflict maximum damage on his colleagues and the wider Conservative movement.
Reports suggest a mole within Mr Jenrick's team leaked a draft of his resignation speech and media strategy for the planned move to Reform. This came after initial speculation that the incriminating document had been discovered "lying around."
Jenrick's Stinging Critique and New Allegiance
Hours after his dismissal, Mr Jenrick appeared at a press conference at Reform UK headquarters alongside party figurehead Nigel Farage. He launched a scathing attack on his former party, declaring it had "failed in government" and showed no remorse. He claimed most of his ex-colleagues "don't have the stomach for the radical change this country needs."
In a bold endorsement, the MP stated it did not take him "one blink of an eyelid" to say he wanted Nigel Farage to be prime minister after the next general election, calling it the only way to save the country. He urged patriotic voters to rally behind Farage and Reform immediately.
Fallout and Political Repercussions
Mr Farage suggested Mrs Badenoch had "jumped the gun" by sacking Jenrick, claiming he might not have ultimately defected. However, Jenrick clarified he had already resolved to leave the Conservatives before his expulsion, though the timing was forced.
He will now join Reform UK's "frontline team," becoming one of six sitting MPs to have crossed over, following Danny Kruger who defected in September 2025. In response, Mrs Badenoch appointed former Theresa May adviser and West Sussex MP Nick Timothy as the new shadow justice secretary.
Addressing the media on Thursday, the Tory leader struck a defiant tone, telling the Press Association: "The people who are dishonest and try and hurt other people are leaving the Conservative Party and going to Reform... Robert Jenrick is not my problem, he's your problem." She is expected to face further questions on the crisis during a visit to an Aberdeen training provider on Friday morning, accompanied by Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay and shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie.
