Disloyalty and defection: the Tory-Reform psychodrama

First he was pushed and then he jumped: high drama at Westminster after Kemi Badenoch sacked her rival for the Tory leadership Robert Jenrick - his crime was plotting a defection to Reform UK. Hours later, Jenrick appeared at Nigel Farage's side, branding his former party "rotten".Did Badenoch’s decisive action help the Tory recovery plan? Which party is left weaker and which stronger in the fight for the right - could this, the most significant defection so far, further fuel Farage’s claim that the Conservative Party’s days are numbered?  Deputy opinion editor Miranda Green hosts a discussion about the ‘psychodrama’ that has rocked Westminster this week with the FT’s deputy political editor Jim Pickard, columnist and writer of the ‘Inside Politics’ newsletter Stephen Bush, and FT’s chief political commentator Robert Shrimsley.Follow Miranda, Jim, Stephen & RobertWant more?Betrayal, plots and a mole who derailed Jenrick’s defection to ReformRobert Jenrick joins Reform UK after being sacked from Tory shadow cabinetJenrick’s sacking is both threat and opportunity for BadenochLunch with the FT Robert Jenrick: ‘I’m unashamedly provincial in my attitudes’Latest U-turn raises renewed questions over Keir Starmer’s judgmentAnd sign up for Stephen's morning newsletter, Inside Politics, for straight-talking insight into the stories that matter, plus puns and tongue-(mostly)-in-cheek analysis.Get 30 days freePolitical Fix was presented by Miranda Green, and produced by Julia Webster. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound engineering by Breen Turner. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.Clips from BBC, XWhat did you think of this episode? Let us know at: [email protected] a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.