In a strongly worded message, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has warned her MPs against further plotting and “psychodrama” after two high-profile defections to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
The defections of former Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick and Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Rosindell have rattled the party, with Badenoch calling a meeting of right-wing MPs on Monday night to address the issue.
Badenoch insisted the defections were “a minor setback, not a defining moment” for the party, and called for unity, stating that “a party that is ruthlessly focused on being effective, holding the government to account and creating a plan for the country cannot also spend its time on psychodrama and intrigue.”
The Conservative leader also suggested that some MPs had been “actively briefing against the party while presenting themselves as Conservative sources,” warning that “those who want to undermine or destroy the party will be dealt with firmly and fairly.”
Badenoch dismissed suggestions from former Tories, including ex-Justice Secretary David Gauke, that the party should move towards the centre ground, calling it a “serious misreading of the situation.” Instead, she attacked the more than 20 former Conservatives who have joined Farage’s party, saying the defections “are not about policy differences or ideology” but “character” and “those who put individual ambition” above public service.
The Conservative leader insisted that Britain is not “broken,” as claimed by Jenrick in his defection speech, but pointed the finger at a broken political culture “because too many who come into it are motivated by self-interest and not national interest.” She also took a swipe at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, saying he “cannot get legislation through because of the self-interest of his own MPs,” despite having a huge majority.
Badenoch, however, struck an optimistic tone, telling her MPs that the Conservatives are “stronger and more united now,” and that the party wants “to talk to voters, not just to ourselves or online echo chambers.”
