https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/jenricks-sacking-highlights-hard-right-menace

THE dramatic dismissal of Robert Jenrick from his post on the Tory front bench and from the party itself is a landmark in the recalibration and reorganisation of the right in British politics.

It points, far more than the numerous other high-profile defections from the Conservatives to Reform, towards a concentration of significant political forces behind an exceptionally authoritarian and chauvinistic variant of neoliberalism. 

The shadow justice secretary may have jumped slightly before he was ready because of Kemi Badenoch’s decisive move but his rightward trajectory was long headed towards destination Farage. The discovery of his draft resignation letter appears to have precipitated her dismissal of what had become a very troublesome princeling.

Jenrick’s growing alignment with Nigel Farage indicates first, that Reform is increasingly seen as the only viable game in town for the hard right and, second, that the party is intensifying its plans to form a government after the next general election.

To plausibly offer itself as a ruling party, Reform needs more experienced politicians who could step into ministerial office.  Jenrick, a cynical and unscrupulous opportunist, fits that bill.

Originally a modestly liberal “Cameron Conservative” and a Remainer, he has rebranded himself as an authoritarian xenophobe. 

Since losing the 2024 Tory leadership election to Badenoch, his most notable political interventions have been to bemoan the lack of “white faces” he saw during a brief visit to the Handsworth district of Birmingham, and a Conservative conference call for the wholesale sacking of judges he dislikes, to be replaced by those he prefers.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/jenricks-sacking-highlights-hard-right-menace