Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform UK has sent shockwaves through Westminster, not least because of years of bad blood between the former Tory minister and his new boss, Nigel Farage.
In a dramatic twist on Thursday morning, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch sacked her Shadow Justice Secretary for allegedly plotting to defect to Reform.
Within hours, Jenrick was unveiled at a press conference by Farage, where he said the Conservatives “broke” Britain and “betrayed its voters”.
Jenrick, who has been a Conservative Party party member since he was a teenager, is the biggest prize Farage has poached from the Tories to date, following the defection of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi earlier this week.
The Reform leader revealed that he has had talks with Jenrick, with the two apparently meeting for dinner in recent months.
This may have come as a surprise, given Farage previously described Jenrick as “fraud” and “not to be trusted”. Jenrick has said his new colleague is not “the bloke you want to have running your kids’ schools”.
Now that Jenrick has backed Farage to do just that, here is a timeline of their previously less-than-harmonious relationship:
Farage: ‘Jenrick is a fraud’
In a video posted on X last August, Farage described Jenrick as a “fraud” and “not to be trusted”.
He accused Jenrick of backtracking after telling protesters outside asylum hotels he supported them, despite “ramping up” the number of hotels used to house people while serving as immigration minister.
When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000.He is no friend of Epping. pic.twitter.com/E6HMry5AOX
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025Jenrick accused a “rattled” Farage of “pushing false and petty crap” in the form of “doctored videos” about his time as a Home Office minister.
Jenrick: ‘The mask has slipped’
Jenrick also had a public spat on X with Reform’s head of policy Zia Yusuf last year, when he accused him of liking an antisemitic post targeting his Jewish wife and family.
The pair had already been trading criticism over small boats and asylum policy, when in the summer an anonymous X account shared that Yusuf’s account had liked a post containing antisemitic slurs.
Yusuf later stated that “one of the team” that runs his account had accidentally liked the post and apologised.
He said the post was “equally racist against me” as it refers to “brown savages”.
Jenrick called this apology “bulls***” and called on Reform to eject Yusuf from the party.
“The mask has slipped. Likes are private. You thought nobody would ever know. Unfortunately for you, the racist account who posted the tweet and could see the likes exposed you,” he said.
Farage defended his chairman, telling Sky that Yusuf made “one little mistake”, adding that Jenrick made “a lot more mistakes” while in Government.
Farage: ‘Don’t forget, this is Robert Generic’
When Farage was asked last April whether he would accept Jenrick into Reform, he poured scorn on how his political positions had changed over the years.
“Maybe… if we thought he was genuine, yes,” he said.
“Don’t forget… this is Robert ‘Generic’. This is Robert the Remainer. This is the Robert the, I don’t stand particularly for anything at all, who suddenly appears to be.. on this Damascene Conversion.”
Farage has repeatedly used this attack line against Jenrick, including as the Conservative Party leadership contest to replace Rishi Sunak reached boiling point in September 2024.
He wrote on X that Jenrick was “formerly a man that believed in nothing” who now pitches himself as “a great hardliner”.
“I doubt that Jenrick will last long if he wins,” he added.
Jenrick: ‘You don’t want Nigel running your kid’s school’
Jenrick previously told The Sun that Farage may be a “good bloke to go to the pub with”, but he is not someone who should be trusted to run public services.
In September last year, he said: “I don’t think Nigel is the bloke you want to have running your kids’ schools or running your local hospital or… trust your savings, your pension, your small business too.”
He previously told GB News that although he agrees with Farage on “many issues”, but said: “I don’t think he’s a serious politician.”
Robert Jenrick on Farage:"I don't think Nigel is the bloke you want to have running your kids' schools or running your local hospital or… trust your savings, your pension, your small business to." (September 2025)"I don't think he's a serious politician." (Oct 2024) pic.twitter.com/IyoSLDvLhJ
— Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) January 15, 2026Burying the hatchet?
Jenrick and Farage have laughed off their former animosity, saying that they are now on “exactly the same page” on “everything today,” if not “in the past”.
In fact, there has been some evidence of a rapprochement recently. In an interview with the Nottingham Post at the end of December – perhaps in an indication of his imminent defection – Jenrick said he had “a lot of respect for Nigel Farage”.
“We know each other well and have very similar views on many issues. I think he speaks for millions of people in the country,” he said.
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But questions remain over how the two men will work together. While Farage would no doubt welcome his experience in government if Reform won the next election, few people in Westminster think that Jenrick’s ambitions are limited to just being a Cabinet minister again.
Would Jenrick – who ran for the Tory leadership – really be happy just being another supporting actor in the Farage show?
Some Tories think that Farage could be acquiring a leadership rival in his new recruit.
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