The ballot has opened in the Conservative Party leadership election. Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will face Sir Keir Starmer across the despatch box from November. I worked with both of them when they were government ministers.
Robert Jenrick
I first met Jenrick when I was speaking at a National Infrastructure event in London in summer 2019. He was the new Local Government Secretary – a cabinet level job. I was there with Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, we pushed him on devolution. He had nothing to say.
During the pandemic, I pushed him for action to deal with schools as a transmission vector. He was not on top of his brief, said he “held a different view” but did not explain it.They closed the schools shortly afterwards. I doubt Mr Jenrick was even in the loop.
I never found him on top of his brief. That’s not partisan politics – I worked with many ministers who knew the facts about an issue, even if we disagreed about solutions.
As for integrity, he broke election spending rules, denied it, but the Tories were eventually fined £70,000. He claimed £100,000 for a “third home” he rarely used.
The biggest scandal was overruling a planning decision to allow pornographer Richard Desmond to build luxury flats. Desmond lobbied him at a dinner. Jenrick’s decision saved Desmond around £40 million of infrastructure payments, and a further £106 million by letting him off the affordable homes requirement. A fortnight later Desmond donated £12,000 to the Tory Party. I don’t know if I’m more offended at the corruption, or at how cheaply he gave away £150 million of taxpayer money. There are also dodgy dealings with Israeli donors.
In many ways, he’s the mirror image of Sir Keir Starmer. He’s changed his positions and is saying what his party members want to hear. I don’t believe he has any personal commitment to anything other than himself. We don’t need another performative politician in it for the career. He will be utterly ineffective in challenging Labour on integrity.
Kemi Badenoch
I met Kemi Badenoch while negotiating the North East devolution deal in 2020 and 2021. She was Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury at the time. I made the pitch for extra powers and funds for the North East. She managed to agree with my arguments and be combative at the same time – and went into a detour about how the developers of her first flat had let her down. Fair do’s though, she kept her word, and got sign off for a letter that offered the North East extended devolution.
I can totally believe that “she will cross the road to get into a fight”. Britain needs credible opposition, not a culture warrior. She refused to vote for gay marriage in Northern Ireland. She does not believe in government, but a free for all. She said 5 to 10% of civil servants should be in jail. One civil servant tweeted in reply, “After the last 14 years, the country might want to say this about Conservative MPs.”
Which one?
My wholly unscientific poll of Tory members has no one particularly keen on either of them. Mind you, most of my Tory contacts are of the One Nation stripe. The Tory Party, like all major parties under first-past-the-post, is a coalition. It used to be a blend of village hall charity fundraisers on the one hand, and investment bankers pushing for deregulation on the other.
Now both groups seem outnumbered by the perpetually angry who just want blame everyone else for anything. Europe. Immigrants. The Guardian. Cycle lanes. Speed cameras. Vegetarians. Human Resources. Human Rights. Food banks. Black actors in BBC dramas. Both contenders seem to be playing to this gallery.
I have no stake in who is Tory leader, but I do care who is holding the government to account. I wanted Ken Clarke to beat Iain Duncan Smith in 2001. I didn’t share his politics. I did think he’d hold Tony Blair to a higher standard. IDS won, just moaned about things, and offered no effective opposition. Two years later the Tories ditched him.
Given Sir Keir Starmer’s unprecedented ability to trash Labour’s support, you have to wonder whether he, Badenoch or Jenrick will lead their parties into the next general election.
I worked with both Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch. Neither will give Britain the opposition it needs – economic scrutiny, not more culture wars.
