2 weeks Ago By The Telegraph
Credit: Sky News Robert Jenrick has vowed to unite the Conservatives and Reform UK against Labour in a leaked audio recording. The shadow justice secretary said that he was “not prepared” for divisions on the Right to enable Sir Keir Starmer to win a second term in power. Mr Jenrick’s remarks are the furthest that a Tory frontbencher has gone in indicating the possible need for some form of arrangement between their party and Reform.
Both Kemi Badenoch , the Conservative leader, and Nigel Farage , the Reform leader, have categorically ruled out any deal before the next general election. Reform has outperformed the Tories in the polls since the start of this year and claims to have significantly surpassed the last known Tory membership figure. In audio obtained by Sky News of a speech at the University College London Conservative Association dinner last month, Mr Jenrick said: “[Reform UK] continues to do well in the polls.
And my worry is that they become a kind of permanent or semi-permanent fixture on the British political scene. He said: “If that is the case – and I say, I am trying to do everything I can to stop that being the case – then life becomes a lot harder for us, because the Right is not united. “And then you head towards the general election, where the nightmare scenario is that Keir Starmer sails in through the middle as a result of the two parties being disunited.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared for that to happen. I want the fight to be united. And so, one way or another, I’m determined to do that and to bring this coalition together and make sure we unite as a nation as well.
” Earlier this month, Mrs Badenoch suggested that Tory and Reform councillors could work together to stop Labour at a local level, only for Mr Farage to reject this. ‘About voters and not parties’ Senior Tory backbenchers including Esther McVey and Suella Braverman have that insisted a deal must be reached with Reform to oust Labour from power. But allies of the shadow justice secretary rejected the idea that his comments represented similar support for a pact with Reform.
A source close to Mr Jenrick said: “Rob’s comments are about voters and not parties. “He’s clear we have to put Reform out of business and make the Conservatives the natural home for all those on the right, rebuilding the coalition of voters we had in 2019 and can have again. “But he’s under no illusions how difficult that is – we have to prove over time we’ve changed and can be trusted again.
” However, the leak will do little to quash speculation in Westminster that Mr Jenrick, who lost last year’s leadership race to Mrs Badenoch , may fancy another tilt at the top job in future. He is appearing at 15 Tory association dinners, fundraisers and other local events between March 12 and July 18. Mr Jenrick’s team stressed that he had been invited to all of the events and they were to raise money for the party.
But those most heavily involved with such events are often viewed with suspicion because party members will always have the final say in picking the next Tory leader. In this month’s influential ConservativeHome rankings, Mr Jenrick led Mrs Badenoch by more than 60 points in a survey of the Tory faithful. ‘Grubby deals’ Ellie Reeves, the Labour Party chairman, said: “Kemi Badenoch needs to urgently come clean as to whether she backs her shadow justice secretary in doing grubby deals with Reform behind the electorate’s back or if she will rule it out.
“If she disagrees with Robert Jenrick, how can her leadership have any credibility whilst he remains in her shadow cabinet? “We know Kemi Badenoch has opened the door to deals with Reform at a local level, which Labour has categorically ruled out and now Robert Jenrick has let the cat out the bag.” On Wednesday, the Liberal Democrats called for Mrs Badenoch to sack Mr Jenrick. Daisy Cooper, the party’s deputy leader, said: “The cat is out of the bag.
Senior Conservatives are plotting a grubby election deal with Nigel Farage. “Kemi Badenoch should sack Robert Jenrick now if she’s serious about ruling out a pact with Reform. Anything less would show she’s either too weak to sack him or that she agrees.
“It’s little wonder that former Conservative voters, appalled by the party lurching further to the right, are switching to the Liberal Democrats in their droves.”.
