Robert Jenrick locked horns with Sky News’ Trevor Phillips this morning while jumping to Nigel Farage’s defence.
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson shrugged off a new report from the Sunday Times, which claims Farage did not declare support from convicted criminal George Cottrell when he became an MP.
The revelation comes while Farage is still under investigation from the parliamentary watchdog for not declaring a £5 million donation from a crypto-billionaire prior to winning his seat in 2024.
The party insists Farage has not broken the rules in either of these scenarios.
But Jenrick furiously collided with Phillips on Sunday when the presenter asked: “Is Nigel Farage now becoming more of a liability than an asset to Reform?”
“Don’t be silly, Trevor,” he said.
Phillips hit back: “You’ve lost half a dozen points [in the polls], you can barely hear a word out of your leader, he’s keeping a low profile.”
“Nigel Farage is keeping a low profile?” Jenrick scoffed. “Nigel Farage is out and about across the country, he was out in America in the last couple of days meeting the US vice-president.”
“To remind you, he’s a British MP!” Phillips replied.
“He’s also someone who is a leading character – likely to be the next prime minister,” Jenrick said.
“You still have to deal with the lingering questions if you like about the character of the party and the leader,” Phillips reminded him.
Jenrick also said “there’s nothing to see here” about the Cottrell revelations, and insisted Farage is “not going anywhere”.
He claimed the media “seem fixated on Nigel” but that technique is “not working” as Reform continues leading in the polls.
“Why not? You just told me he’s going to be the next prime minister,” Phillips said.
After more back and forth, Phillips said he was “astonished” Jenrick thinks it does not matter who Farage associates with and their background.
The Newark MP also denied Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf had publicly undermined him during a public spat earlier this year.
Jenrick told Sky in May that a foreign national would not be deported “exclusively” if they live in social housing under a Reform government.
But Yusuf replied on X: “Robert’s answer is not Reform policy.
“As the person responsible for our deportation plan I want to ensure people know where we stand: if a foreign national lives in social housing at taxpayer expense, they automatically fail our economic test and will be deported.”
However, Jenrick insisted on Sunday that he and Yusuf are “basically on the same page.”
“No, you’re at different ends of the book. He said you were wrong!” Phillips said.
Jenrick insisted: “No. We’re saying two important things here. We’re saying social housing, which is a precious commodity of which we’ve got too little in this country, should be for British citizens – and that’s what Reform would do.
“Secondly, if you’re in the UK and you’re not a Brit and you’re living in social housing, you will not be able to remain in it because you will not meet the economic test.
“You’ll be given three months to find private accommodation and if you can’t, then I’m afraid you will have to leave the country.”
“So no divisions in the top team? Or, as some cruel people say, he’s bullied you into a tougher position?” The presenter asked.
“No, none at all,” he said, insisting they are a united team.
Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
