Robert Jenrick

Robert Jenrick in 2024

Robert Edward Jenrick (born 9 January 1982) is a British politician affiliated with Reform UK since January 2026. After standing as a Conservative at a 2014 by-election, Jenrick became the MP for Newark and served in government as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (2018–2019), Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (2019–2021), as Minister of State for Health (September to October 2022) and as Minister of State for Immigration (2022 to 2023), when he resigned. Following Labour's return to government after the 2024 general election, Jenrick was a candidate to become Conservative leader and was appointed Shadow Justice Secretary under Kemi Badenoch. He was sacked (and suspended from the Conservatives) in January 2026 after "irrefutable evidence" was found indicating Jenrick was preparing to join Reform, a defection which was confirmed later the same day.

Quotes

• Reform is not the answer at this election. Their plans are not based in reality. Cut £50 billion a year from public services? Independent observers have explained that the sums don't add up.
• Because whether it's Labour, Reform, or the Lib Dems – votes for these pie-in-the-sky parties is a vote for La La Land fantasy politics which will only take the country backwards. And we cannot afford that.
  • "Conservative Party is the natural home of Reform voters", The Mail on Sunday (23 June [2024]), as reproduced in archive save on Jenrick's website.

• I have been very critical of police in the past, particularly around the attitude of some police forces to the protests we saw since [the Hamas attack on Israel on] 7 October [2023].
  I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout 'Allahu Akbar' on the streets of London and not be immediately arrested; project genocidal chants on to Big Ben and not be immediately arrested. That attitude is wrong and I'll always call out the police for it.
  • From an interview with Sky News, as cited by Jessica Elgot in "Robert Jenrick criticised for saying people shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ should be arrested", The Guardian (7 August 2024)
  • In Arabic, the phrase "Allahu Akbar" means "God is great".

• We need to make Reform redundant by restoring the Conservatives' credibility on immigration and exposing Reform's fantasy economics.
  • From an interview, as cited in "Robert Jenrick: I respect Nigel Farage but we need to retire him", The Sunday Times (25 August 2024).

• I want this country to be the most welcoming country in the world for Israelis and for the Jewish community.
  And a small thing that I fought for when I was the immigration minister was to ensure that every Israeli citizen could enter our country through the e-gate, through the easy access.
  So that at every airport and point of entry to our great country there is the Star of David there as a symbol that we support Israel, we stand with Israel. We are friends and allies of Israel, and Israelis are welcome in our country.
  • At a Conservative Party conference Friends of Israel event (29 September 2024), as cited by Amy Gibbons in "Display the Star of David at UK border to show ‘we stand with Israel’, says Jenrick", The Telegraph (30 September 2024)

• Our special forces are killing rather than capturing terrorists because our lawyers tell us that if they are caught, the European court will set them free.
  • In a campaign video posted on X (30 September 2024), as cited in "Robert Jenrick challenged to justify claim UK special forces 'kill rather than capture' terrorists due to EU law", LBC (1 October 2024)
  • Rival Conservative leadership candidates James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat strongly disagreed with these comments.

About Jenrick

• I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.
  I was 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 British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they're seeing too much of it in THIS government. I will not repeat those mistakes.
  • Kemi Badenoch (15 January 2026), from a post on X/Twitter, as cited in "Kemi Badenoch sacks Robert Jenrick over 'defection plans'", The Guardian (15 January 2026).