Fireworks, a heckler shouting about Lucy Letby and more details about Robert Jenrick’s botched defection to Reform… there’s never a dull moment at a Nigel Farage rally
Moment heckler is thrown out of Reform UK rally
If Robert Jenrick’s allies are to be believed, his defection to Reform last week has turned British politics upside down.
Unfortunately for him, his plot was executed with the grace and cunning of a crazed raccoon feasting from a bin bag. In a bid to put the humiliating mess behind them, Nigel Farage and co summoned the party faithful to Newark for a snazzy massage to his bruised ego.
Since bending the knee to a new master, the “new sheriff in town” has had a lot of brickbats thrown at him. But he had a bounce in his step as he tore into the former colleagues who just a week ago he was pretending to be loyal to.
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Let’s not forget that Mr Farage himself wasn’t exactly glowing last week when he said his growing army of Tory recruits had to first convince him they were ashamed of their previous actions. This, then, was a chance for the Reform leadership to show they are behind their new man.
It didn’t take long for things to take a puzzling turn though. Seconds after Mr Jenrick strode onstage, a heckler had to be kicked out by burly security guards for shouting something seemingly nonsensical at him.
The man repeatedly shouted “Robert, Robert” as the target of his anger tried to hide his irritation. It is unclear what point the man was trying to make, but before he was bundled away he was heard shouting: “David Davis (the Tory MP) supports Lucy Letby.”
There’s never a dull moment. But the hundreds of Reform supporters who queued in the rain to see the rockstar leader and his new sidekick did not seem to hold Mr Jenrick’s record against him.
Last week Mr Farage said he was only 60% certain he would actually join Reform on the morning of his defection. Mr Jenrick himself conceded his defection was announced sooner than he expected after Kemi Badenoch exposed his plot.
Mr Farage confirmed in his headline speech that someone in Mr Jenrick’s office had leaked it to the Tory leader. With friends like these, who nears enemies.
But there’s no going back now, and Mr Jenrick needs to show he’s a true believer – excitedly telling the audience that Britain is broken and Labour and the Tories got it. The former immigration minister, who once bragged about opening asylum hotels, insisted: “I have never felt stronger and more certain about anything I have done in my life.”
Typically for a Reform rally there were sparklers onstage and lots of loud music and razzle-dazzle. Say what you want about Farage, he can put on a show.
And Lee Anderson – who became the party’s first MP two years ago – warned of ugliness to come. “The fight will get dirty and there will be casualties,” he proclaimed cheerfully.
This will not be the sternest test Mr Jenrick faces – as he tries to persuade ordinary voters that he is trustworthy. But if this carefully choreographed show is anything to go by, this is a repenting Tory that Reform members are happy to accept.
Which is good for him, as he’s in a crowded field.