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Harry Farley,Political correspondentand
Kate Whannel,political reporter
The Conservatives’ new shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy has said the public are “absolutely sick” of “backbiting and backstabbing” following the defection of Robert Jenrick to Reform UK.
Jenrick dramatically joined Nigel Farage’s party on Thursday and writing in the Telegraph encouraged others to make the move, arguing that “the future of the country is on the line”.
However, Timothy, who has replaced Jenrick in the shadow cabinet, said that in contrast to his own party Reform were not doing the “thoughtful work” needed to fix the country’s problems.
Senior Conservatives believe some other MPs could also defect, but are not expecting a big wave of departures imminently.
Speaking at a press conference unveiling Jenrick as a new Reform MP on Thursday, Farage said he would continue accepting defections until the local and national elections on 7 May.
Jenrick is the second sitting Conservative MP to switch to Reform and the second former Conservative minister to join the party in the week, following former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.
Timothy said the mood in his party, following Jenrick’s departure was one of “resolve” and that the party was “more united under Kemi [Badenoch’s] leadership than I’ve known it for many years”.
He said his colleagues had been “impressed by the way Kemi handled the situation and had been so decisive”.
He added that Reform were not doing “the serious work that will lead to serious policies”.
Privately some Conservative MPs have been venting their anger at Jenrick, with one former supporter telling the BBC: “He was telling lies to everyone… I’m very disappointed in him.”
One shadow cabinet minister, and a Badenoch loyalist, said: “This is the ego of Robert Jenrick. He’s been seduced by the impression from his social media following that he’s more popular than he really is.”
Speaking to the BBC, Reform’s leader in Scotland Lord Offord said: “At the end of the day people are allowed to genuinely change their opinion as they get older and wiser and more experienced.
“He [Jenrick] now knows that politics is realigning and he needs to get on the side of authenticity and that’s why he’s chosen reform.”
Farage has also said he would be announcing a defection from the Labour party next week.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Times Radio he was “not worried” about a potential defection adding that Reform was “a right-wing project and we will stand firmly against it”.
Shadow cabinet ministers have been playing down the significance of Jenrick’s defection, arguing that he has limited public recognition.
However, the Newark MP is popular among Conservative party members and his defection could also weaken the argument that Reform is a one-man band without any MPs who have experience of government.
Reform will be boosted by the arrival of their new member but it leaves them vulnerable to accusations, including from their own ranks, that the party is not just replacing the Conservatives but becoming them.
Badenoch sacked Jenrick as a shadow minister on Thursday, saying in a video that 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 BBC has been told Badenoch was shown a draft of Jenrick’s defection speech which included stinging criticism of his shadow cabinet colleagues.
Five and a half hours after his dismissal, Jenrick appeared at a Reform press conference where he was unveiled as the party’s new MP.
Jenrick told reporters both Labour and the Conservatives were “dominated by those without the competence or backbone needed to fix it”.
He said the previous Conservative government, in which he served as housing secretary and immigration minister, had “failed so badly”.
