Kemi Badenoch sacks Robert Jenrick for plotting to defect<\/p>\n
Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick<\/a>, the shadow justice secretary, for plotting to defect.<\/p>\n She has posted this on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they\u2019re seeing too much of it in THIS government.<\/p>\n I will not repeat those mistakes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Farage said that he regarded Robert Jenrick<\/a> as part of the Tory failure on immigration. But the \u201cone big tig\u201d in his favour for Reform UK was the fact that he resigned from Rishi Sunak\u2019s government, Farage said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Farage claims Badenoch ‘panicked’, and that Reform UK was not planning to unveil Jenrick as defector later today<\/p>\n Farage says he was not planning to unveil Robert Jenrick<\/a> as a defector at his press confence in Westminster this afternoon.<\/p>\n Asked to confirm that he had been speaking to Jenrick about defecting, Farage says he has already confirmed that.<\/p>\n He says he thinks Kemi Badenoch \u201cpanicked\u201d and he implies she thought Jenrick was going to defect this afternoon.<\/p>\n I suspect she\u2019s added up two and two and made five. I can confirm \u2013 hand on heart, honestly, look you in the eye \u2013 I was not going to be unveiling Robert Jenrick at 430 this afternoon.<\/p>\n Asked if Jenrick was planning to defect to Reform UK<\/a>, Farage jokes that he could have been planning to defect to the Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n But he says he has been speaking to many senior Tories about possible defections.<\/p>\n He says he welcomes defectors from other parties. But he also says the \u201csheer level of failures of 14 years, of broken manifesto commitments\u201d can be be a problem.<\/p>\n He says he will give Jenrick a call later this afternoon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.41 EST<\/p>\n Farage says ‘of course’ he has spoken to Jenrick<\/p>\n Nigel Farage, speaking at his press conference in Scotland, has said that \u201cof course\u201d he has had conversations with Robert Jenrick<\/a>, who was sacked by Kemi Badenoch this morning for planning to defect.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Badenoch says Jenrick wanted his defection to be ‘most damaging’ to Tory party<\/p>\n Here is the text of Kemi Badenoch\u2019s video statement about Robert Jenrick<\/a>.<\/p>\n This morning I removed the Conservative whip from Robert Jenrick after dismissing him from the shadow cabinet.<\/p>\n I was very sorry to be presented with clear, irrefutable evidence, not just that he was preparing to defect, but he was planning to so in the most damaging way to the Conservative party and shadow cabinet colleagues.<\/p>\n It is my responsibility to protect our party and faced with that information I took the only decision that any responsible leader could because the British public are tired of political psychodrama \u2026<\/p>\n When I was elected leader, I committed to doing politics differently.<\/p>\n Disloyalty and dishonesty undermine trust in politics. They are also disrespectful to our party members, our councillors and MPs and most of all voters. You all deserve better.<\/p>\n The Conservatives suffered a heavy defeat in 2024. That was painful. But we are rebuilding with strong principles, clean plans and a serious team united around a shared purpose.<\/p>\n When individuals choose to walk away from that effort for personal ambition, that tells you nothing about the Conservative party and everything you need to know about them.<\/p>\n There will be more to say, and I know a lot of commentary, about this decision.<\/p>\n But I want you all to be in no doubt that, at a time of global uncertainty, I am focused on holding the government to account, ensuring they are acting in the national interest and that Conservatives deliver a proper plan for a stronger economy, stronger borders and a stronger Britain.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.30 EST<\/p>\n Badenoch says Robert Jenrick<\/a> was planning to defect. She does not say to which party, but it is likely to have been Reform UK. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, had scheduled a press conference in Westminster this afternoon, and Reform did not tell us what it was for.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kemi Badenoch sacks Robert Jenrick for plotting to defect<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick<\/a>, the shadow justice secretary, for plotting to defect.<\/p>\n She has posted this on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I. They saw too much of it in the last government, they\u2019re seeing too much of it in THIS government.<\/p>\n I will not repeat those mistakes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is holding is press conference in Scotland. There is a live feed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Streeting \u2018shocked\u2019 police chief behind Maccabi Tel Aviv ban still in post<\/p>\n Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said he would be \u201chorrified\u201d if the chief constable of West Midlands<\/a> police remains in his post \u201cby the end of the day\u201d, describing his behaviour as a \u201cstain on his character\u201d. Neha Gohil has the story.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Liz Kendall welcomes Elon Musk acting to stop Grok creating sexualised deepfakes, and thanks those who spoke out<\/p>\n Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, has welcomed the news that Elon Musk\u2019s X announced it had stopped its Grok AI tool from letting users, including for premium subscribers, digitally undress images of women and children.<\/p>\n As Sky News reports<\/a>, Kendall said:<\/p>\n I welcome this move from X, though I will expect the facts to be fully and robustly established by Ofcom\u2019s ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n Our Online Safety Act is and always has been about keeping people safe on social media – especially children – and it has given us the tools to hold X to account in recent days.<\/p>\n I also want to thank those who have spoken out against this abuse, above all the victims. I shall not rest until all social media platforms meet their legal duties and provide a service that is safe and age appropriate to all users.<\/p>\n We will continue to stand up for British values and to uphold the laws of this land.<\/p>\n Here is the announcement<\/a> about the news from X.<\/p>\n And here is our story about it, by Robert Booth and Dara Kerr.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.08 EST<\/p>\n UK economy grew by better-than-expected 0.3% in November despite budget uncertainty<\/p>\n The UK economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in November despite uncertainty around Rachel Reeves\u2019s budget, official figures show. Heather Stewart has the story.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Streeting welcomes second biggest monthly drop in hospital waiting lists in England in 15 years<\/p>\n NHS England says November saw \u201cthe second biggest drop in the waiting list for 15 years outside of the early days of the pandemic\u201d.<\/p>\n As PA Media reports, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen to its lowest level since early 2023. PA says:<\/p>\n An estimated 7.31 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of November 2025, relating to 6.17 million patients, down from 7.40 million treatments and 6.24 patients at the end of October.<\/p>\n The number of treatments waiting to be carried out is now at its lowest level since February 2023, when it stood at 7.22 million.<\/p>\n The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.<\/p>\n Commenting on the figures, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said:<\/p>\n For too long, patients were promised change in the NHS but saw little of it. This government is turning promises into change people can actually feel.<\/p>\n Waiting lists are down by more than 312,000 and more patients are being treated within 18 weeks. November saw the second biggest monthly drop in waiting lists in 15 years. That means faster care, less anxiety for families and people back on their feet and back to work.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Steve Reed claims elections to ‘zombie councils’ pointless, as at least 22 authorities request elections delay for May<\/p>\n Good morning. Before Christmas the government announced that 63 councils in England (there is a full list of them here<\/a>) would be asked if they wanted to postpone local elections due in May<\/a>. They are all in areas where local government is being reorganised, and the government said, because reorganisation takes up time and money, some of them might find running elections at the same time difficult. Alison McGovern, the local government minister, wrote to council leaders<\/a> saying they had until midnight on 15 January (tonight) to reply. The government will take the final decision, but McGovern said, if councils request a delay, it will be minded to agree.<\/p>\n Most councils have now taken a decision and a BBC survey<\/a> says that 23 of them have decided to ask for a delay, and 34 will let the elections go ahead as planned. The other seven have not said. Max Kendix from the Times has done the same exercise<\/a> and he says, by the end of the day, he expects 27 councils to have come out in favour of a delay \u2013 and ministers to approve all 27 of those applications. He says:<\/p>\n The councils cover more than 5.2 million people and 3.7 million registered voters who will no longer get to choose their local councillors this year.<\/p>\n Almost 600 councillors, including just under 200 Labour councillors, will not have to defend their seat this year. Two thirds of the Labour councils which were asked whether they wanted to delay chose to say that they did, compared with just under a third of Tories.<\/p>\n This is in line with what the Daily Telegraph found when it carried out a survey last week.<\/a><\/p>\n The Conservatives<\/a> have strongly criticised the decision to allow elections to be postponed and, according to the Telegraph, Reform UK plans to try using a judicial review to ensure all the elections have to go ahead. Nigel Farage\u2019s party is currently doing very well in local council byelections, and so it is no surprise that he wants as many people to vote in the May council elections as possible.<\/p>\n The Telegraph has also launched a campaign<\/a> to scrap the clause in the Local Government Act 2000 that allows ministers to delay elections using secondary legislation. Before that, if ministers wanted to postpone elections, they needed an act of parliament, which is much harder to pass.<\/p>\n But, in an article <\/a>for the Times, Steve Reed, the housing, communities and local government secretary, has defended the decision to allow councils to delay elections. He argues that the reorganistion is essential and that councillors could be elected in May for local authorties that would soon cease to exist anyway.<\/p>\n He says \u201crunning a series of elections for short-lived zombie councils will be costly, time consuming and will take scarce resources away from frontline services like fixing potholes and social care\u201d.<\/p>\n He also accuses the opposition parties of being hypocritical, or self-interested.<\/p>\n The Conservatives, who themselves delayed elections in North Yorkshire, Somerset, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, are confused.<\/p>\n On the one hand they won\u2019t stand in the way if their local leaders want delays, but on the other they accuse Labour of being \u201cscared of voters\u201d.<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, called delays a \u201cbreach of human rights\u201d despite his party requesting one in Cheltenham. And of course Reform UK, who will take any issue and try to use it to benefit themselves, regardless of whether it will benefit the public.<\/p>\n They want pointless elections, Labour wants to fix potholes. Outside of Westminster it\u2019s obvious what\u2019s more important.<\/p>\n Here is the agenda for the day.<\/p>\n 9.30am: Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.<\/p>\n 9.30am: NHS England publishes its monthly hospital performance figures.<\/p>\n 11am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK<\/a> leader, holds a press conference in Scotland where he will say who\u2019s been chosen as the party\u2019s leader in Scotland.<\/p>\n 11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.<\/p>\n Morning: Keir Starmer<\/a> is on an energy-related visit in Scotland with Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary.<\/p>\n Afternoon: Kemi Badenoch is on a visit in Edinburgh, where she will be joined by Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, and Andrew Bowie, the shadow Scottish secretary.<\/p>\n 4.30pm: Farage holds a press conference in London.<\/p>\n And Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is on a visit to the Arctic Circle region of Norway.<\/p>\n If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (between 10am and 3pm), or message me on social media. I can\u2019t read all the messages BTL, but if you put \u201cAndrew\u201d in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.<\/p>\n If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X<\/a>, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.<\/p>\n I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can\u2019t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.<\/p>\n