❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed his defection from the formerly governing Conservative (Tory) Party to Nigel Farage’s rising Reform Party.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Robert Jenrick, Nigel Farage, Tory leader Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch, and the Tories’ broader leadership.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The defection was announced on Thursday, following Jenrick’s dismissal from the Shadow Cabinet by Badenoch earlier that morning.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Britain is broken. Britain needs Reform. And Reform needs you.” – Robert Jenrick
🎯IMPACT: Jenrick’s defection signals growing discontent within the Tory Party and bolsters Reform’s standing as a government-in-waiting.
Former Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has officially defected from Britain’s formerly governing Conservative (Tory) Party to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, just hours after being dismissed from Tory leader Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch’s Shadow Cabinet after evidence of the planned defection was uncovered.
Jenrick, who held a number of government positions while the Tories held office from 2010 to mid-2024, said he no longer believed the Conservative Party was capable of delivering meaningful reform, accusing it of lacking the “stomach for the radical change this country needs.” He said he was convinced that Reform, led by Farage, is now the only party able to meet the task at hand.
Speaking alongside Jenrick at a press conference, Farage welcomed the defection and joked that Badenoch deserved thanks for sacking him. “I think Rob coming will bring a lot more people and voters to us,” Farage said, describing the moment as a major step forward for his party. Notably, Jenrick placed second to Badenoch in the party’s internal leadership elections in 2024, and his popularity has increased while hers has decreased since then.
Jenrick used his speech to deliver a sharp critique of the Conservatives, arguing that their years of failure had left the country in decline. Praising Farage, he said, “Nigel has stood for the real change we need for over a decade,” and called on others to follow him to Reform. He concluded with the rallying cry: “Britain is broken. Britain needs Reform. And Reform needs you.”
Reform has been regularly topping national polls for months, and the party has claimed record membership growth, at one point overtaking the ruling Labour Party in total members. Past surveys indicate that more than half of Tory voters would back a merger or alliance with Farage’s party.
The truth. pic.twitter.com/IXK07KeC9u
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) January 15, 2026
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