Today has been a bit of a car crash for Robert Jenrick. As we reported, Kemi Badenoch sacked Jenrick after allegedly unearthing the following plot:
I have sacked Robert Jenrick from the Shadow Cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership with immediate effect.
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… pic.twitter.com/zoSzFp0cKq
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) January 15, 2026
Everyone assumed Jenrick was set to join Reform UK, but Nigel Farage has now denied that the two have reached an arrangement. Even more embarrassingly, numerous old posts from Farage have materialised:
Jenrick is a fraud. I’ve alway thought so, this quote proves it. pic.twitter.com/pMcuhe88mw
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 18, 2025
Humiliating
Steven Swinford of the Times reports that Badenoch completely outplayed Jenrick and Farage:
Kemi Badenoch’s ambush of Robert Jenrick was carefully planned and deliberately timed for Nigel Farage’s press conference
Rebecca Harris, the chief whip, called Jenrick to tell him he had been sacked while Farage was holding his press conference
At 11.06, moments after Jenrick slammed the phone down after protesting his innocence, Kemi Badenoch announced on X that she was sacking Jenrick with a pre-recorded video
It meant Nigel Farage faced questions at the presser and that team Jenrick were caught completely unawares.
If this wasn’t embarrassing enough, Jenrick allegedly left his resignation letter just lying around:
The Times are reporting that the Tories got hold of Robert Jenrick's resignation speech after he left it lying around.
pic.twitter.com/bkAwwGhA3Y
— Haggis_UK
(@Haggis_UK) January 15, 2026
No wonder Robert Jenrick's resignation letter was discovered. Do Reform have a huge printer for all their defection letters? pic.twitter.com/D8JYZ2EbXo
— tariq tahir (@tariqtahir) January 15, 2026
This is all so embarrassing that everyone is making fun of Jenrick:
.@RobertJenrick do you need a union rep x
— Trades Union Congress (@The_TUC) January 15, 2026
But what does Farage think?
“Hypocrite”
Farage hasn’t just called Jenrick a “fraud”; he’s also called him a “hypocrite” who you should not believe on “anything”:
POLITICO now reports Jenrick is a hypocrite who was planning these long-term contracts to process Channel migrants whilst he was in government.
Don't believe a word that he says on anything. https://t.co/WyrXjBegHs
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) October 14, 2024
Jenrick also called out Farage:
And then there’s always ANOTHER tweet. This time Farage slating Jenrick: https://t.co/fYUWC9L1bY pic.twitter.com/NCCREqe2WK
— Sangita Myska (@SangitaMyska) January 15, 2026
Potentially, this won’t be a problem for Farage or Jenrick. As we saw earlier this week when Nadhim Zahawi defected, Farage has no problem being hypocritical when he thinks it will benefit him. After all, this is just one of the things he said about Zahawi:
Nigel Farage on GB News in 2022: "I thought Zahawi had principles. Tonight we learn he's just about climbing that greasy pole, as so many of them are"
Nadhim Zahawi has just joined Reform. pic.twitter.com/RFYtfeGVRl
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) January 12, 2026
And this is what Zahawi said about Farage:
"Nadhim Zahawi, a few years ago you tweeted: 'I'm not British born Mr Nigel Farage, I'm as British you are. Your comments are offensive and racist. I would be frightened to live in a country run by you'"@nadhimzahawi has just joined Reform. pic.twitter.com/eYA9O3Iwa2
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) January 12, 2026
There is definitely a problem brewing, though. As we reported, Reform UK members are not happy that Farage is stuffing his anti-establishment operation full of establishment insiders. This is manifesting in a backlash from members, councillors, and fellow travellers:
How is Reform UK meant to deliver real change or speak for real Brits when its ranks are filling up with defectors from the Conservative Party the country already despises? You can’t fix a broken system by recycling the people who broke it.
— British Intel (@TheBritishIntel) January 15, 2026
There’s another fact which may be worse than the backlash, and it’s that Jenrick is pretty well liked among potential Reform voters:
As Robert Jenrick is sacked by Kemi Badenoch for plotting to defect to Reform UK, our most recent favourability figures for the former shadow justice secretary show that those intending to vote Reform UK are as likely to have a favourable opinion of him (30%) as Conservative… pic.twitter.com/5M84obMCjN
— YouGov (@YouGov) January 15, 2026
According to the sacked Rupert Lowe, Farage really doesn’t like potential competitors. Will Farage welcome a potential challenger into his party? Or will he use the current backlash as an excuse to leave Jenrick out in the cold?
If he does, it would admittedly be the funniest thing to happen this year:
Funniest timeline now is that Jenrick/Farage can’t work out a deal, and Jenrick ends up having to do the full Powell and joins the DUP.
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) January 15, 2026
Featured image via Sky News
By Willem Moore
This post was originally published on Canary.