Is Robert Jenrick trying to be the Trump of the Tories?

By Michael Baggs (with Emily Maitlis & Jon Sopel)

Robert Jenrick has been criticised for suggesting UK police are involved in a Southport cover-up – but is there something deeper, and more Trumpian, going on here?

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick has suggested police withheld information from the public in the investigation into the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift dance class.
• Former Tory chief of staff Gavin Barwell tells The News Agents that Conservative values were always to stand with the police, not undermine their investigations.
• The News Agents say Jenrick is mimicking tactics that have worked so well for Donald Trump in America to secure votes for his leadership bid.

What's the story?

The Conservative Party will get a new leader this week – Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick – with members having cast their final votes in the weeks since this year's Tory conference.

One person who didn't vote? Former Tory chief of staff and current member of the House of Lords, Gavin Barwell.

"I have some concerns about the choice that was finally put to the members, but it doesn't particularly surprise me that the party has moved in this direction," he tells Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel.

"The history of British politics would tell you that when parties lose elections, they often find it hard to learn the appropriate lessons."

Since the Tories' crushing defeat in the July election, there has been much discussion over whether the party moves to a more moderate, centrist political standpoint, or leans harder into the right to reflect and counter the rise of Reform UK.

With both Badenoch and Jenrick representing the harder right of the party, it seems like that decision about the future of the Tories has already been made.

But, Barwell warns, it may not simply lean into the right, the party may end up going full Trump after the results of the leadership race are revealed.

'A mistake' for the Tories if Robert Jenrick becomes leader?

What are the signs of the Tories turning Trumpian?

As the leadership contest hit its final days, Jenrick shared conspiracy theories online that details of the alleged Southport stabbing killer had been covered up by the police and the government.

As the investigation into the accused proceeded, police brought additional terrorism charges unrelated to the attack on the Taylor Swift dance class which left three little girls dead.

Not only did Jenrick's intervention draw comparisons to Trump rhetoric, it also drew criticism due to what was seen as interference in an ongoing case.

"To me, it's a very strange thing to see a leading Conservative politician essentially accusing the police of a cover up," says Barwell.

"The Conservative Party that I joined, one of its core principles was a respect for the institutions of the country."

But he doesn't believe Jenrick is alone in trying to move the Tory Party to something more akin to Trump's MAGA reimagining of the Republicans.

"There are clearly people trying to drag the Conservative Party in that direction," he says.

"I think the challenge for people like me is you have to understand why this form of politics has some force. It's no good just saying I don't like it, you have to recognise when you see this as a phenomenon."

He adds that this change isn't just about Trump, but about the rise of populist right-wing politicians and parties across Europe as well.

"If people are not feeling that mainstream politics is delivering for them in terms of rising living standards, that's one of the things pushing them to this form of politics," he adds – saying this goes hand in hand with the quantity of disinformation on social media, which he blames on "hostile states".

"It tells you that lots of voters have got concerns that they don't think mainstream politicians have been addressing."

Are conspiracy theories taking hold of UK politics?

What's The News Agents' take?

Emily says there's one important thing to remember when considering why Jenrick decided to suggest there had been a cover-up by the police: He's a lawyer, and therefore should understand how these processes work.

"He's meant to understand the integrity of the system, of the criminal justice system, rather than turning it into something that is meant to be Halloween, scary, populist nonsense," she says.

She says he is trying to "alarm members of the public and incite amongst them a sense of outrage" by suggesting people in power were withholding information.

"He thinks politics will fuel people who feel somehow that they can no longer trust the institutions."

Jon adds that in his time covering politics as a journalist, the Tories have always presented themselves as "the party of law and order, the party that stands with the police."

"Here we have someone who aspires to be the leader of the Conservative Party saying the police are covering up stuff, not telling us things, and we had a right to know immediately," he says.

"Since when do we expect the police to give a running commentary on an investigation before charges are brought?

"In this country, policing is done by consent. It relies on a sense of trust. There's been no cover up. The police have laid additional charges."

And when it comes to miscarriages of justice, it's not like there aren't plenty of examples of genuine incidents which people should in fact be angry about.

"It is perfectly valid to say there are many cases in which public trust in our institutions has been badly hit – like the blood scandal, the Post Office scandal, the cover up at Hillsborough," Emily says.

"But it is really important that our leaders, or our potential leaders, don't try and create situations whereby they pretend there has been a cover up when due process is being sought and followed.

She believes he is doing this to win the final votes in the Tory leadership contest by "making people scared".

"It's a very similar tactic to the one that Donald Trump has been using in the US for eight years.

"He's not alone. He's made it electorally successful and Jenrick, you can't help thinking, is hoping the same thing will rub off on him here."

Listen in full on The News Agents

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