It’s a tricky business plotting to oust your leader and take the top job for yourself.
On the one hand, it doesn’t pay to be too overt, as Andy Burnham found out when challenging Keir Starmer at Labour conference in Liverpool.
But on the other, the rank and file need to know you are not only ready, but the person for the job, should an opening appear.
Which is why some of those watching Robert Jenrick this week at the Tory conference in Manchester were not entirely taken in by his professions of loyalty to Kemi Badenoch.
“There was a leadership election and the party made its choice,” he said at a fringe event on Monday hosted by The Spectator when asked if he would make another tilt for the leadership.
“Kemi is our leader, I am in her Shadow Cabinet. I would not have chosen to serve in the Shadow Cabinet if I didn’t believe in Kemi, if I didn’t want her to succeed, if I’m not rooting for her and trying to support her in every way that I can. So that’s what each and every one of us should be doing.”
Badenoch’s stumbling start
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaks on the first day of the Tory conference in Manchester (Peter Byrne/PA)Of course, these questions would not be asked if the leader were secure in her position. But Badenoch is not. A stumbling start, a series of gaffes – the latest insisting Northern Ireland voted for Brexit when it did not – and poor performances at Prime Minister’s Questions, have left questions about her future open.
Badenoch woes were underlined on Monday by polling from YouGov showing that 50 per cent of Tory members believe that she should not lead the Conservatives into the next general election.
And Jenrick has not been shy in putting himself, subtly, forward with eye-catching TikTok videos and policy ideas.
He is by far the star attraction in Manchester.
While other Cabinet ministers are giving speeches to half-empty rooms on Monday there was standing room only to see the shadow Justice Secretary.
Jenrick was at a fringe event sponsored by The Spectator, the august political magazine for those on the right, ahead of his main conference speech on Tuesday.
Delegates queued more than half an hour to see him, and his loyalty went down well with Tory members, with shouts of “Good!” and “Hear, hear!” from the audience.
On another occasion, the interviewer tried to elicit a rise by mentioning Badenoch’s recent claim that most of Jenrick’s outspoken views “are my thoughts repackaged”.
Jenrick was far too disciplined to take the bait. “I get on very well with Kemi,” he replied. “We have a bit of banter sometimes, but we get on well, we’ve got a good relationship. You’re not going to tempt me down that route.”
Playing the long game
Jenrick attends the first day of the Conservative conference (Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty)Senior figures in the party think that Jenrick is playing a long game, however, knowing that any explicit show of disloyalty could fatally damage his reputation among the membership.
A Tory insider said: “He’s obviously getting ready to go for it at some point, he’s got a team ready and everything. But he’s not going to go for it now, not least because he knows members wouldn’t like the idea of attacking the leader – even if they don’t actually like her.
“It’s true that he who wields the knife never wears the crown.”
Were Badenoch to step down, Jenrick would, according to YouGov polling, be the favourite of the membership to succeed her, with 37 per cent saying he’d be their top choice, ahead of 22 per cent who would most like to see a return of former prime minister Boris Johnson and 20 per cent who would favour shadow housing secretary James Cleverly.
Instead of over-campaigning, Jenrick has been using the conference to subtly highlight his strengths to Tory members, such as how he was ahead of the curve within the Conservative Party on leaving the European Convention on Human Rights – a position belatedly embraced by Badenoch this week.
“I’m delighted that the party has arrived at this political position. It’s obviously something I’ve been arguing for some time,” he told The Spectator event.
Asked whether Badenoch should have moved to his position earlier, he magnanimously said: “There’s no point relitigating the past,” but couldn’t help but add: “You want to be one or two bounces of the ball ahead of our opponents, so we should be looking to the future, not playing catch-up.”
At a time when the Tories are struggling to command the public’s attention because of the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, Jenrick was also very happy to talk about how much exposure had been generated by his online videos, such as when he filmed himself confronting fare dodgers on the London Underground.
“In a different era when you’re in opposition you would struggle to get any attention and people say ‘oh you can’t cut through, no one’s interested in the Tory Party, it’s not relevant anymore’.
“I don’t believe that for one minute. Half an hour at Stratford station, I got 25 million views.”
‘You don’t change Titanic’s captain after it’s hit the iceberg’
Despite Jenrick’s show of loyalty, tensions remain within the party over his ambitions.
One MP who is closely allied with Badenoch suggested that it was “ludicrous” for colleagues to be considering a change in leader. “You don’t change the captain of the Titanic after it’s hit the iceberg,” they said.
They were also dismissive of Jenrick’s chances. “What makes anyone think he can do what Kemi can’t? He’s not the answer.”
A senior Tory MP, meanwhile, said the decision to put a photo of Badenoch alongside members of the Shadow Cabinet on the conference brochure was to show “unity” and that the party was “team effort”.
But they could not help but point out that some members of the team did not make the cut. “You’ll notice Jenrick isn’t on there,” they observed.
Jenrick’s team deny adamantly that they are preparing a leadership challenge. But some Tory MPs think that unless Badenoch can urgently gain some momentum, that challenge is coming.
A former minister said: “There’s a lot of disquiet but whether that turns into anything more, it depends on how the conference goes.”
Your next read
square ROBERT JENRICKJenrick urged to ‘explain himself’ over ‘didn’t see another white face’ remark
square PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTSUK October 7 protests will go ahead – as PM calls pro-Palestinian rallies ‘unpatriotic’
square HOUSINGHouse sellers will be forced to list problems with their homes before sale
square POLITICSTories would cut PIP for mental health claimants and scrap heat pump grants
Hence then, the article about jenrick is a picture of loyalty but tory insiders insist badenoch should be worried was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Jenrick is a picture of loyalty. But Tory insiders insist Badenoch should be worried )
Also on site :