Disloyalty and defection: the Tory-Reform psychodrama
Political Fix16 Tammi

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 & Robert


Want more?



Betrayal, plots and a mole who derailed Jenrick’s defection to Reform


Robert Jenrick joins Reform UK after being sacked from Tory shadow cabinet


Jenrick’s sacking is both threat and opportunity for Badenoch


Lunch with the FT Robert Jenrick: ‘I’m unashamedly provincial in my attitudes’


Latest U-turn raises renewed questions over Keir Starmer’s judgment


And 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 free


Political 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, X


What did you think of this episode? Let us know at: politicalfix@ft.com


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(580)

Angela’s ambitions

Angela’s ambitions

Angela Rayner heaped scorn on Sir Keir Starmer’s administration this week, fuelling fresh scrutiny of her ambitions. Does she want to return to cabinet or seize the reins? The former deputy prime mini...

20 Maalis 40min

Mandelson mess and Middle East U-turns

Mandelson mess and Middle East U-turns

It has been a week of red faces for party leaders. On Thursday, Keir Starmer apologised and took personal responsibility for the appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US – after a fir...

13 Maalis 36min

Iran shock for Starmer

Iran shock for Starmer

A week into the Iran war and Sir Keir Starmer is scrambling to defend the UK’s position on the conflict. Criticised by Donald Trump over blocking the US from using British military bases to launch ini...

6 Maalis 35min

Green grief for Starmer: by-election special

Green grief for Starmer: by-election special

The Gorton and Denton by-election was supposedly a three-horse race, but on polling day the Green Party stormed to victory by a vast margin. It was a devastating defeat for Labour, which was pushed in...

27 Helmi 31min

Farage against the machine

Farage against the machine

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveiled his ‘shadow cabinet’ at a glitzy event in London this week, with a newly bespectacled Robert Jenrick announced as ‘shadow chancellor’. The event was a hit with R...

20 Helmi 36min

Mandarin mayhem

Mandarin mayhem

After another torrid week for the prime minister, the focus has shifted from No 10 to Whitehall as the UK’s top civil servant is shown the door. Cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald had been in the job...

13 Helmi 31min

Mandelson, money - and the risk to the prime minister

Mandelson, money - and the risk to the prime minister

Fresh revelations about Peter Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have sparked a political explosion in Westminster, reopening questions about Keir Starmer’s decis...

6 Helmi 34min

Chinese whispers — at home and abroad

Chinese whispers — at home and abroad

Sir Keir Starmer is 5,000 miles away in China, meeting President Xi Jinping to drum up investment and deepen relations, but back on the home front the PM’s leadership looks increasingly beset. Manches...

30 Tammi 36min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
tervo-halme
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
viisupodi
rss-asiastudio
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rikosmyytit
the-ulkopolitist
radio-antro
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-girls-finish-f1rst