The Conservatives should try to put Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party “out of business”, said Robert Jenrick, the Tory leader hopeful, on Wednesday.
The former home secretary, who quit Rishi Sunak’s government over illegal immigration, attacked Sir Keir Starmer for failing to mention the issue in a speech in Downing Street on Tuesday.
However, he acknowledged that the Tories themselves had failed to stop boats crossing the Channel, giving Mr Farage an opening he could exploit.
“I know how damaged the party’s image is, how difficult the current situation is for our party, but I want to take the long road to change that,” Mr Jenrick told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
“I know we have a mountain to climb, but I think the way to get there is to defend the good things we have done in government, like on the economy – a decade of high employment – reforming our schools so that our children are now among the most educated, but at the same time being honest about the mistakes we have made.”
He rejected the idea of a deal with the leader of the Reform UK Party.
“I don’t think Nigel Farage wants to join the Conservative Party. I don’t think he needs to.
“I want to get rid of reforms. I want to make them unnecessary because I want clear guidelines for legal and illegal immigration.”
Jenrick’s rivals for the Conservative leadership include Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat, who has called for the British armed forces to be involved in combating illegal immigration, just as the Royal Navy helped abolish slavery in the 19th century.
When the House of Commons returns from its summer recess next week, the field of candidates will be whittled down to four after a series of votes, who will then present their arguments at the Conservative Party conference beginning in four weeks.
