Westminster woes deepen for UK Labour. Sussan Ley should take note |
On the blasted heath that is current British politics, weeks don’t come much crazier than last one. I arrived in London on Thursday. Shortly before I left Australia, the news broke of yet another high-profile Tory defection to Nigel Farage’s insurgent Reform Party. This time it was Nadhim Zahawi, who served briefly as chancellor of the exchequer under Boris Johnson, and was later chairman of the Conservative Party.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s polling numbers are poor, as are those of his Labour government.Credit: Bloomberg
Then, not five hours after I landed at Heathrow, a much bigger story broke. The Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch announced on social media that she had sacked Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, and suspended him from the party for “gross disloyalty”.
The circumstances of Jenrick’s dismissal had none of the artful Machiavellianism usually associated with the Conservatives. It was pure comedy. Apparently, an aide had left a copy of his resignation speech on a photocopier, where it was discovered by an opposition staffer. Badenoch acted swiftly and brutally, depriving Farage and Jenrick of the chance to reveal the defection in their own time and with maximum impact. Later that day, a flustered Jenrick appeared at a hasty press conference with Farage to confirm it, but Badenoch had already stolen first-mover advantage.
Jenrick is not just another random Tory malcontent. He was runner-up in the leadership election after the Conservative wipeout at the 2024 election: in the final run-off ballot of grassroots members he secured 44.5 per cent. In particular, his uncompromising line on immigration appealed to the party faithful. There has since been a near-to-universal expectation that Badenoch would not last the distance to the next election (due in 2029); were she to fall, Jenrick was the standout favourite to replace her. Suddenly, he was gone.
Ordinarily, for an opposition to be deserted by its second-most important politician would be a devastating blow. But that is not how it played out, at least........