A senior lawmaker for Britain’s Conservative Party was accused on Thursday of “plotting” to defect to a rival party and was ousted, highlighting the fierce competition that is underway for the future of the country’s political right.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, said on social media that she had fired Robert Jenrick, one of the party’s leading lawmakers, after being “presented with clear, irrefutable evidence” that he wanted to leave in a way that would cause maximum damage to his longtime party.
Ms. Badenoch did not name the party, but Mr. Jenrick, who has hard-right views, had been rumored to be considering defecting to Reform U.K., the right-wing populist party led by Nigel Farage. Mr. Jenrick did not respond to a request for comment.
Her surprise move came after a string of Conservative politicians across the country joined Reform, which has surged in popularity since the last general election and has led the polls for almost a year.
Mr. Jenrick’s dismissal followed an announcement on Monday that Nadhim Zahawi, a former Conservative minister who once served as chancellor, had joined Reform, citing the need for “a glorious revolution.” On Wednesday, Reform officials announced that 14 local Conservative council members had switched to the party.
The defections are a boost for Mr. Farage, whose anti-immigrant views and Trump-like populism have transformed Reform from a fringe party into a political powerhouse on the right. Public surveys show Mr. Farage and his party with strong support across some parts of the country.
That has largely come at the expense of the Conservatives, who dominated British politics for decades. The party of Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson now consistently trails behind Reform in the polls, although in recent weeks it has regained a little ground.
Reform’s popularity has also altered the political debate for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his struggling Labour Party. Mr. Starmer and his allies have increasingly taken aim at Mr. Farage and Reform as they try to claw back the support that helped them win the general election in 2024.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” Ms. Badenoch said. “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.”
Asked at a news conference on Thursday after the dismissal whether Mr. Jenrick was about to be unveiled as a new member of Reform, Mr. Farage said: “Is he one of many that I’ve talked to about what the future might look like? Absolutely. Have I signed a deal with him? No.”
But Mr. Farage added that Reform would “welcome” further defections from people who shared the party’s beliefs and said he would call Mr. Jenrick to “see what he wants to do.”
Mr. Jenrick became one of Britain’s youngest-ever government ministers in 2019 and later served as minister for immigration for 11 months. He was appointed as a Conservative centrist and a loyalist to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and was seen as a moderating force.
But he later had a political transformation. After the Conservatives lost power in July 2024, he became increasingly vocal on social media and garnered a large following on X, sharing videos in which he challenged fare dodgers on the London Underground and took up divisive positions on migration and security.
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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