Robert Jenrick clinches Treasury brief as Reform reveals ‘shadow cabinet’
Robert Jenrick will spearhead Reform UK’s bid to woo the City and project fiscal responsibility after the recent-defector beat peers to the party’s ‘shadow’ Treasury brief.
The Newark MP – who defected to the Nigel Farage’s turquoise tribe in January – was unveiled as the Reform party’s ‘shadow chancellor’ as Farage appointed a host of top names to departmental spokesperson roles in his latest bid to show his party is ready for government.
Jenrick thanked Farage for allowing him to “oppose the wrecking ball that is Rachel Reeves” and pledged to put together the most “comprehensive plan” to fix the UK economy.
Elsewhere, the party’s head of policy Zia Yusuf was named ‘shadow home secretary’ whilst Richard Tice took a new beefed up portfolio of business, trade and energy.
Tice, who Farage confirmed would serve as deputy Prime Minister if Reform are elected, said the party’s new would-be department should be led by “someone with a successful track record in business who’s made hundreds of millions for shareholders, investors and lenders alike”.
Former Tory home secretary and recent-defector Suella Braverman was handed the education and skills brief alongside a focus on equalities.
The appointments will be bound to rattle the Conservative Party, the official opposition party with 116 MPs to Reform’s eight.
Reform no longer ‘one man band’
Speaking in Westminster on Tuesday, Farage said too often criticism around Reform had centred around the party being a “one man band”.
“The time has come to broaden the party, to put it to these people in shadow positions, and that process begins today – just begins today with four important announcements,” the Reform leader said.
The Reform ‘shadow cabinet’ launch comes after the party hailed a major win over the Labour government on Monday after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer U-turned on plans to postpone local elections in May for 30 councils in England.
On Tuesday, Farage said the government’s climbdown was “a big win not just for us, but a big win for democracy, something that those that went before us actually fought to defend the very principle of”.
The switch added to a long-running list of policy U-turns from government since coming to power 18 months ago, with sharp reversals on welfare reform, business rates hikes, ‘day one’ workers’ rights and more.