Jenrick hints he may run for Tory leadership
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE’S only Conservative MP has hinted he may be about to launch a bid to be the next leader of his party.
Robert Jenrick clung on to his Newark seat with a vastly reduced majority to become the only Tory MP in the county – with the party even losing its Rushcliffe stronghold to Labour for the first time since 1966.
He has quickly emerged as a frontrunner to take over the leadership of the Conservative Party from Rishi Sunak, who confirmed that he eventually step down as leader after leading the Tories to their worst election defeat in history.
Mr Jenrick has been Newark MP since 2014 and backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest.
Since then, he has held Government roles including housing secretary under Mr Johnson, health minister under Liz Truss and immigration minister under Mr Sunak.
The Newark MP resigned from the latter role after arguing that the Rwanda plan – now scrapped by Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – did not go far enough in tackling illegal immigration.
Now Mr Jenrick has hinted he will put himself in the frame to be the next Conservative leader.
Asked by the Daily Telegraph whether he would be running in the leadership race, he answered: “It’s only a fortnight after the worst election result for the Conservative Party in our history.
“We all need to reflect on how that happened. I’m talking to colleagues in Parliament and those who have lost their seats.”
Other potential contenders for leader include Suella Braverman, Kemi Badenoch and Priti Patel.
Mr Sunak has said he will stay on as leader while the process of selecting his replacement takes place, with some Tories favouring a shorter contest over the summer and others favouring a longer one into the autumn – the latter being preferred by Robert Jenrick.