This post was originally published on this site.
Robert Jenrick’s defection from the Conservatives to Reform UK is still being chewed over across many pages.
The Daily Telegraph says the Tory party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has dismissed claims made by Jenrick that Britain is broken. She has written in the paper that the country’s “best days are ahead”. She is also quoted in the Times as saying it is “extraordinary” that Mr Jenrick attended this week’s shadow cabinet meeting as he was “plotting”. The Sun sums up Badenoch’s thoughts with the headline “good riddance to bad Rob-bish”.
The front page of the i Weekend labels Robert Jenrick a “spy”, due to suggestions he will pass on details of Conservative strategy to his new colleagues. He is also expected to be given “a plum job”, but there is a warning this could create tension within Reform.
Both the Guardian and the FT Weekend say Jenrick’s supporters in his Nottinghamshire constituency of Newark feel “betrayed” by his decision to switch to Reform. The Daily Express says voters there have told the paper they want the chance to decide for themselves whether he should continue to represent them.
According to the Times, the Prime Minister is under pressure to “get rid” of the health secretary, Wes Streeting. Ministers have privately accused Streeting of putting his leadership ambitions before the party. One is quoted by the paper as saying Sir Keir Starmer should learn from Kemi Badenoch’s pre-emptive strike against Robert Jenrick. A spokesman for Streeting says it is a real shame that so-called “allies” of the prime minister are briefing against him yet again.
Some of the papers feature reaction to the chief constable of West Midlands Police retiring with immediate effect, after growing criticism of his role in the banning of Israeli football fans from a match in Birmingham. The Sun says there was “outrage” at Craig Guildford being allowed to walk away with a full pension instead of being sacked. The Daily Mail’s headline is “shameless to the very end”; the paper says he is preparing to sue for constructive dismissal.
