In the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as head of the Conservative Party, Jenrick is one of six candidates. According to him, the National Health Service (NHS) is “not a religion.” He argued for a smaller state, and he stated that the political system is “completely broken.” He presented alternative priorities for the Prime Minister of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer.
Robert Jenrick has stated that the political system that he was a part of is flawed, and he has asserted that he is the individual who may be able to fix it as the leader of the Tory party.
During a rally for the leadership contest in his Newark constituency, the former minister stated that he intends to “breathe new life into our party” and will work to guarantee that it becomes a “mass membership organization once again.”
He is competing against Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Dame Priti Patel, Mel Stride, and Tom Tugendhat, all of whom are Conservatives, in order to succeed Rishi Sunak as the chairman of the Conservative Party.
He stated that the Conservative Party needs to “confront some hard truths” after admitting that it has “let down too many people on multiple occasions.”
“The primary one is that we broke our promise to the British public to deliver controlled and reduced migration and the secure border that the public rightly demanded,” he explained to reporters.
The proposal that Mr. Sunak had to deport migrants to Rwanda was the reason that Mr. Jenrick resigned from his position as minister of immigration. He referred to the measure as a “triumph of hope over experience.”
At the event, he stated that he was “not willing to be just another minister who makes and breaks promises on immigration.” This was the driving force behind his resignation.
It is not accurate to say that the National Health Service (NHS) is a religious organization.
On the other hand, Mr. Jenrick indicated that he resigned because of all the promises that were broken regarding the economy and the National Health Service.
Inefficiency and waste have been allowed to consume our financial resources, which have been tossed into the abyss. The establishment of new quangos was something that we approved of. “We did not take any action to punish those who were under poor management,” he continued to explain.
“We allowed the donkeys in the back offices of the National Health Service to let down the lions who were working on the front lines of the NHS.”
“Above all—above all—we forgot that the NHS is a public service, not a religion.”
The party, according to Mr Jenrick, “must never make those choices again, we must never shirk the difficult decisions, we must never jump at our own shadows” .
In addition, he stated that the current political system “is not working for the British people.” He also rejected the idea that all of the problems are the result of the Conservative Party, noting that these problems are problems that are experienced by the majority of countries in the Western world.
Favorite hoped to show as much pizazz as possible in order to secure the top job.
A former immigration minister who was once known as Robert “Generic” spoke for fifteen minutes without taking notes with the intention of demonstrating to members of the party that he possesses the charisma necessary to be in the top position.
These remarks brought to mind David Cameron’s speech that he delivered at the Tory conference in 2005, in which he urged the party to face the consequences of its past mistakes. It was because of this speech, which he made without using any notes, that he went from being an underdog in the campaign for leadership to becoming a frontrunner.
Jenrick’s diagnosis of the causes of this setback, which included a number of failures on the part of the government, with immigration being at the top of the list, was articulated in a clear and concise manner. The party, he argued, has to be willing to acknowledge “hard truths” in order to have a chance at returning.
His victory in Newark, which was against the odds and was the kind of small town constituency in the Midlands that would be vital to a future Conservative comeback, was presented as two of the reasons why he believes he is the best person to lead it. His victory in Newark was highlighted as one of the reasons why he believes he is the greatest person to lead it.
Moreover, he stated that “a cycle of broken promises” was the impetus behind his decision to leave his position as immigration minister in the government of Rishi Sunak.
His party, he added, wanted to develop more dwellings in cities so that young people would not be confined to their childhood beds. This was in addition to the issue of migration.
In addition, he stated that the party that had lost its reputation for “sound financial management” and that had failed to make the appropriate decisions on the National Health Service (NHS) needed to be faced.
He attributed his transition from being an extremely loyal Remainer to a right-wing critic of his party, who advocates for the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, to his two years working at the Home Office. During that time, he asserted that the government was unable to restrict the number of people entering the country or prevent dangerous individuals from entering the country.
Right-wing members of parliament are beginning to show their support for Jenrick. His odds of winning are currently the highest among the bookmakers.
His success will be contingent on the members of his party believing in his conversion and supporting him over some of the more prominent individuals in the race if he is able to make it to the final two.
“There is no room for improvement in the system.”
Mr. Jenrick stated that he had previously believed that the system was functioning properly; however, over the course of the past two years, he has come to the realization that “a different approach is needed” and that the “overbearing and powerless” state needs to be removed.
He stated that he “fought relentlessly” to find solutions to the challenges of mass migration “that most people agree with,” highlighting the strong opinions he had regarding immigration.
“And yet our political system was either unwilling or unable to effect the change that our country needs,” according to the president.
“And in the end, I concluded this: that the system that I had been part of, that I had upheld, was completely broken and was contributing to our national decline.”
He stated that this is the reason why “our party remains our country’s best hope,” despite the fact that it needs to change. Mr. Jenrick accused Labor of lying to the people during their first four weeks in office.
For the purpose of outlining what he would do if he were to become prime minister, he stated that there is a requirement for a smaller state, that there should be an increase in the number of jails, and that defense spending should be at least three percent of GDP.
The recent victory that Mr. Jenrick achieved in Newark, where he has served as a Member of Parliament since 2010, served as evidence that he is capable of winning.
“If we show that we are united again as a broad church, but a broad church with a common creed—if, above all else, we show that we have changed—then we can win again,” he said in conclusion.
Furthermore, we are capable of and will achieve victory once more. In ten years, not at all. Not in two different terms. But we have a chance of winning the general election that will follow.”
Upon the return of parliament on September 2, the list of contenders to become the next leader of the Conservative Party will be reduced to four. Subsequently, the list will be reduced once more to two candidates before the party members vote for leaders on October 31.