Robert Jenrick, widely tipped as a future Tory leader after being accused of undermining Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, has let loose by admitting his party has a “mountain to climb”.
The shadow justice secretary, who came second to Badenoch in last year’s leadership race, has told Boston and Skegness Conservatives the party “lost touch with the British public” following the brutal general election defeat.
Jenrick has been touring the country visiting dozens of local Tory branches throughout the year so far, fuelling leadership speculation – something he denies.
According to LincsOnline, which first broke the bombshell story, Jenrick said: “I’m under no illusions of how hard this is going to be. We have a mountain to climb but we can do it.
“When we’ve lost in the past, it’s always been because we lost touch with the British public, we stopped serving the British public. That’s what’s just happened.
“We’ve got to put more money into people’s pockets, tackle migration, secure our borders, make our streets safe and clean again, give the country pride once more and make sure that we are respected in the world again.”
He added: “What I think we have got to do is be painfully honest about the things we got wrong. People have got to believe that we get it and we have changed.
“I don’t think they do right now. I think people still think that we haven’t quite learned our lessons and we’re going to have to do that quickly.”
In recent weeks, Jenrick has created polished social media vigilante videos, from catching tube fare dodgers to looking for upcoming illegal migrants in Calais, which has also left the door open to leadership questions.
“I was pleased to be appointed shadow justice secretary and have thrown myself into that role,” he told The Telegraph over the weekend, suggesting he has no plans to run for leader.
As per Conservative Home rankings, he is the most popular shadow Cabinet member among party members.
In December 2024, The London Economic obtained leaked messages from Robert Jenrick to a far-right X account saying he is a “great admirer” of its content and agrees with it on “what needs to happen”. He did not reply to a request for comment.