Christopher Hope has weighed in on Robert Jenrick’s dramatic switch to Reform UK and he’s predicted who could be next on Nigel Farage’s recruitment list.
The GB News Political Editor said: “On Tuesday, Reform UK will unveil a Labour figure to broaden the appeal of the party, which already has 20 or so former or current Tories on board.
“Nigel Farage is setting May 7 as the deadline the local election date and the elections in Scotland and Wales, to sign up new candidates, or the drawbridge is pulled.
“On the GB News website, we’ve listed potential candidates: 12 brave names including Andrew Rosindell, Sir John Hayes, who is Robert Jenrick’s mentor, though perhaps too old for a career change now, Lord Frost, who wants to be an MP after being blocked last election, Mark Francois, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tom Hunt, Nick Fletcher, Robin Millar as a strong Welsh voice potentially, Jane Stevenson, and Damien Moore from Southport.”
The defection came just hours after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed Mr Jenrick from his position as shadow justice secretary, simultaneously removing the party whip and suspending his membership.
Mrs Badenoch stated she had been 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 timing proved chaotic, with the Tories releasing extracts of what they claimed was Mr Jenrick’s planned defection speech moments before a Reform press conference began.
A Conservative source indicated Mr Jenrick had dined with Mr Farage the previous month and had been discussing a potential switch with various Westminster figures.
Christopher Hope shared his predictions
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GB NEWS
Christopher added: “There’s a risk, of course. Mr Jenrick has a record, and some in Reform, like Zia Yusuf, who likes to attack Tory records on Twitter, might not be happy with the influx of Tory defectors.
“Mr Farage acknowledges that risk: if you bring in someone with Government experience, they’ve also got a record of successes and failures. Yusuf might calm down, but he’s passionate and unlike MPs and staff, he isn’t paid.
“He’s a donor, investing his own money, and that gives him the right to be angry. That anger, in many ways, drives Reform forward.
“Finally, it was striking to hear Robert Jenrick say that the man next to him, Nigel Farage, could be Prime Minister repeatedly.
Robert Jenrick has left Kemi Badenoch’s party and defected to Reform | GETTY
“You don’t often hear Mr Farage talked about in that way, but coming from Jenrick, who could have been a Tory leader himself, it was quite a moment in the room yesterday.”
The defection came just hours after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch dismissed Mr Jenrick from his position as Shadow Justice Secretary, simultaneously removing the party whip and suspending his membership.
Mrs Badenoch said she had been 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 timing proved chaotic, with the Tories releasing extracts of what they claimed was Jenrick’s planned defection speech moments before a Reform press conference began.
At the Westminster press conference, Mr Jenrick launched a fierce assault on his former party, accusing the Conservatives of lacking “the stomach for the radical change this country needs”.
“I can’t kid myself any more. The party hasn’t changed and it won’t,” he declared.
“That the Conservative Party needed to change fundamentally – starting by acknowledging the state of Britain and owning up to the role we played in getting in there.
“I respect Kemi – but on all these issues, we were in different places.”