There is always one darling of each Conservative conference, and it’s very rarely the leader. This year it is Robert Jenrick’s turn. Queues for the shadow Justice Secretary’s fringe meetings snake 100 metres around the Manchester convention.
Jenrick is frequently stopped by young Tories in high street suits, who want selfies with the party’s alternative power base. His wife, Michal, a fabulous force of nature, briskly takes the photos before hustling him on to his next engagement. He’s been telling people at conference that in bed together she reads out the mean things people write about him.
Jenrick’s allies have learnt from the lessons of Labour conference last week, when Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham made an embarrassing attempt to destabilise Sir Keir Starmer by going in too hard and too soon with an ill-fated leadership bid. This week the Tory is being scrupulously loyal.
At a fringe meeting following his keynote speech on Tuesday Jenrick was asked about a YouGov survey that found half of Tory members thought their leader Kemi Badenoch should not lead the party into the next election.
“My view is this. We’ve suffered our worst-ever election defeat just over a year ago and we are in the foothills of turning this party around. Being leader of the opposition in this situation is an immensely difficult and challenging task,” he said.
“And what we have to do, those of us who are in Parliament, the designated survivors of the Conservative parliamentary party, those of us who are members and supporters of the party here today, is get behind Kemi. Give her the support she deserves so she can do the difficult job of rebuilding this party.”
Jenrick’s loyalty is being taken with a pinch of salt by his colleagues in the Shadow Cabinet. “Even though he lost, Rob has never stopped campaigning, but this week isn’t the right time,” a senior Conservative remarked.
“I spoke to him, and I don’t think he’s going to move at any point soon,” the source added. “I think he’s learnt from the Andy Burnham case that you make a fool of yourself by saying this stuff out loud and are then completely discredited.
“Whatever you think of Robert, and whether he’s doing things entirely loyally, he’s showing the sort of energy I think the entire front bench needs to adopt,” the source added.
It’s a sentiment often heard at Tory conference, that Jenrick and shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp are the only senior Tories making any impact on the public consciousness. Some Conservative MPs ask their lunch guests to name members of the Shadow Cabinet. The point of this singularly boring parlour game is to demonstrate that these are people who aren’t even household names in their own households.
A common criticism of Badenoch is that by failing to make the political weather in her first year as leader, she has let Nigel Farage – and the more energetic members of her own team – own the conversation.
Badenoch’s allies insist voters simply haven’t forgiven the Tories yet. But ask them about Jenrick’s ambitions and you are met with an eyeroll; they say she has 99 problems and Rob is not one.
“When Rishi [Sunak] was chancellor and Boris [Johnson] prime minister it used to drive Boris to the point of madness that there was this guy who was the prince over the water. But I honestly don’t think Rob lives rent-free in Kemi’s head in the same way. Maybe it’s not being in government. In opposition she’s got enough other problems,” an ally of Badenoch in the Shadow Cabinet told The i Paper.
On stage in his keynote speech Jenrick had a lovely time, ripping into his oppo, Justice Secretary David Lammy, over his infamous Celebrity Mastermind appearance.
square KITTY DONALDSON Kemi Badenoch wants us to trust the Tories on the economy. The problem? Liz Truss
Read More
“David Lammy has a somewhat chequered past. You might recall his appearance on the BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind. He was asked which famous blue cheese is paired with port. He replied ‘Red Leicester’.
“I’m not sure Mastermind was the show for David. Perhaps he could try Pointless. He would work as both a contestant and an answer,” he added. The crowd loved it.
But the punchiest part of Jenrick’s 20-minute address was an attack on what he calls the “activist” judiciary. Brandishing a judge’s wig as a prop, he took aim at the “dozens of judges” he claims to have uncovered who enjoy “ties to open borders charities”, have written partisan social media posts and “who’ve spent their careers fighting to keep illegal migrants in this country.”
If the Tories were to be elected to government there would be “no more quangos” like the Sentencing Council; he would restore the Office of the Lord Chancellor to “its former glory”, so that ministers can appoint judges to ensure that “never again will this country and our people face the prospect of the two-tier justice”.
It was a speech designed to stir Tory memories of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s distinction between the “rule of law” and the “rule of lawyers” to a right-wing crowd who would happily see Starmer sack both Lammy and Attorney General Lord Hermer.
Lammy attacked Jenrick’s “democratic backsliding”, saying he “threatens to trash the institutions and traditions that hold our country together”. Jenrick’s team can be pleased they’ve got cut through.
As Tory conference draws to a close, the plotting by Jenrick’s allies has not gone away. It was always more in Parliament than at grassroots level. May’s local elections are the next point of danger for Badenoch’s leadership.
“Labour doing catastrophically in May might detract from the Conservatives; Kemi can go in and say, ‘Look how terribly they’ve done, we’ve not done as badly.’ Of course it won’t wash,” a senior Tory said. “That’s when Rob could move.”
Jenrick will leave conference on the up. Unlike Burnham, he recognised the timing was against him and has been ostentatiously loyal. No doubt there will be other opportunities ahead.
Hence then, the article about jenrick and badenoch s marriage of convenience is holding together for now 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 and Badenoch’s marriage of convenience is holding together – for now )
Also on site :