Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski have reason to celebrate – but what next for Labour and the Tories now that the two-party system has been demolished?
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Kemi Badenoch may look like a stronger leader now, but Jenrick is a dangerous rival – he knows where the Conservatives have been going wrong
Any assessment of the long-term impact of Robert Jenrick’s defection on the Conservative party must start with what you think he represents – not merely the what of his views, and his popularity with the party grassroots, but the why of them.
Is he merely a talented opportunist, a snake in the Tory Eden who was leading it astray? Or was he trying to answer the challenge of the moment, which many of his former colleagues simply preferred to ignore?
The former chancellor’s criticism of the Tory government is indisputable – but so is his role in its dire record
Defections always pose a messaging dilemma for political parties. Heap too much ordure on the turncoat, and you invite the question of why you were happy to share a tent with them in the first place; praise them too highly, and you exacerbate whatever damage the defection is doing to you.
In the Conservatives’ case, this problem is compounded for journalists by the hyperinflation in key posts. A “former chancellor of the exchequer” sounds like a big deal, and historically it would have been. But in the five years of the last parliament there were no fewer than five chancellors (Margaret Thatcher, across her entire 11-year premiership, had three).
Henry Hill is deputy editor of ConservativeHome
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