Tory contender Robert Jenrick channels his inner Bobby K

On the java array successful Robert Jenrick’s Commons bureau sits an evocative point of US governmental memorabilia. It’s a badge from Robert F. Kennedy’s ill-fated statesmanlike run successful 1968, and it reads: WE WANT BOBBY K.

It’s an in-joke for the Conservative’s ain enactment run today. They are astir to travel retired with their ain enactment of merchandise, saying: WE WANT BOBBY J.

But who wants Bobby Jenrick? And if they get the mild-mannered 42-year-old solicitor from the English Midlands, what benignant of person would helium be?

The reply to the archetypal question seems to be: plentifulness of Tories fed up with untrammelled rates of immigration, some ineligible and illegal. Turning backmost that tide is the centrepiece of Jenrick’s argumentation pitch, aft a startling translation from bland backbench loyalist to Right-wing civilization warrior.

“Successive governments promised controlled and reduced migration lone to present wholly the opposite. And I've been precise honorable that mediocre decisions were made by the ministers astatine the time, instantly aft the 2019 wide election,” the erstwhile communities caput says.

If that sounds precise overmuch similar a transportation from Nigel Farage, it’s due to the fact that Jenrick is connected a ngo to marque Reform UK “redundant”.

Far-right rioters whitethorn person tally rampant crossed municipality centres this summertime but their grievances request to beryllium debated, not ignored, helium insists.

The Tory contender talks present astir restoring a mislaid consciousness of “English identity”, adjacent if helium struggles to articulate what that means. What astir different identities successful this multi-racial, vibrant premix of islands?

Jenrick says helium has nary occupation with them, but complains of areas including successful London “where spoken English is not arsenic beardown arsenic it should be, wherever identities are divided, and adjacent astatine times, connected occasion, determination are inter-communal tensions”.

With Rishi Sunak connected his mode out, the four-strong Tory tract has pitched up astatine the Conservative league successful Birmingham to merchantability their imaginativeness to the enactment fertile and file.

After the conference, the much-reduced set of 121 Tory MPs volition ballot to destruct 2 much of the candidates, aft ranking Jenrick apical successful their ballots truthful far. The members volition past get to determine betwixt the last pair. The effect is owed connected November 2, 3 days earlier the latest US statesmanlike election.

Bobby Kennedy excessively went connected a governmental journey. He started retired arsenic the ruthless and unprincipled enforcer for John F. Kennedy, until his elder member was assassinated. Then helium became a fearless and eloquent campaigner against radical and societal injustice, until helium excessively was gunned down.

But Bobby K wore his bosom connected his sleeve. What makes Bobby J tick? The reply to that is simply a batch much elusive, arsenic we recovered implicit a alternatively strained 45 minutes.

We’re present with 3 of Jenrick’s youthful Spads successful his gloomy office, tucked distant successful the further reaches of Parliament present that the Conservatives are successful opposition.

A tin of Diet Coke has been near by the sofa and is overturned arsenic we instrumentality our places, creating an unsightly gush of brownish liquid connected the bushed greenish carpet. One of the aides hurriedly covers it successful clumps of loo roll. Jenrick smiles tightly, his beady brownish eyes connected alert.

We effort a fewer gentle warm-up questions, astir location life, astir London life, astir favourite restaurants and bars. We conscionable a ceramic wall.

The MP for Newark successful Nottinghamshire studied past astatine Cambridge, specialising successful the bloodthirsty Tudor and Stuart periods. However, helium demurs erstwhile asked if determination are immoderate lessons to beryllium drawn for authorities today. Got a bully past publication connected the go? No, he’s been alternatively busy.

It’s made wide by his aides that the erstwhile Cabinet curate is extracurricular his comfortableness portion and is present lone to speech politics. That seems odd, fixed we’re lone a fewer days distant from the conference. Now’s the clip to unfastened up a bit, surely?

OK, let’s instrumentality to the politics: what makes you antithetic from the different pretenders to Rishi Sunak’s crown - Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly? “Change,” helium says, boasting the grounds of a “reformer”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the aforesaid connected his way to 10 Downing Street. It’s blandly inoffensive, but Jenrick maintains that helium doesn’t judge “in platitudes oregon continuity”.

“I deliberation the Conservative Party has to change. We’ve conscionable suffered our worst ever electoral decision and we person to beryllium painfully honorable astir the mistakes that we’ve made, that we didn’t present capable erstwhile we were successful authorities connected the NHS, connected the economy, connected immigration,” helium says.

“And I privation the Party to spell successful a antithetic absorption wherever we travel guardant with superior answers that the state needs to the large challenges facing america close now. And that’s what I judge I offer.”

Accused by immoderate of his backbench colleagues of governmental opportunism, Jenrick insists that his hardline conversion arsenic a Home Office curate was borne of seeing up adjacent the interaction connected assemblage cohesion, transgression and the jobs marketplace of wide and amerciable migration since Brexit.

“My values haven’t changed,” helium says, possibly unconsciously aping the nonstop words of Kamala Harris erstwhile the Democratic White House hopeful precocious explained her ain argumentation U-turns.

The Tory, who is unabashedly backing Donald Trump against Harris, says: “I person changed my views - my views person evolved arsenic I’ve been exposed to facts.

“For example, arsenic Immigration Minister wherever I saw the harm that wide migration was causing to our country, the mode it was exacerbating the lodging crisis, making it much hard to entree nationalist services and making america a little agreed country.”

Jenrick wants a hard quota acceptable by MPs to get a grip connected ineligible migration, on with the revival of Sunak’s costly and never-implemented Rwanda program arsenic a deterrent to amerciable migration connected tiny boats crossed the Channel.

Jenrick wasn’t ever similar this. He was a Remain-backing loyalist to David Cameron who, aft a stint successful complaint of communities and lodging successful Boris Johnson’s Cabinet, was installed by Sunak arsenic a inferior Home Office curate to support a wary oculus connected the maverick Suella Braverman.

The determination backfired connected the past PM. Jenrick emerged seemingly radicalised himself - going arsenic acold arsenic calling for the UK to discontinue the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR), overmuch to the delight of the hard Tory Right.

Like Braverman earlier she was forced retired arsenic Home Secretary, helium contends that multiculturalism has not been an “unalloyed success” and that constabulary request to bash much to enforce instrumentality and bid “without fearfulness oregon favour”.

Jenrick would alternatively not speech astir his favourite hangouts successful the world’s top capital, but is scathing astir Sadiq Khan’s grounds connected location building, transgression and London’s disappearing night-life.

“I deliberation that Sadiq Khan has failed London. London is simply a metropolis successful diminution nether Sadiq Khan…. The London imagination is fading,” the Conservative claims, accusing the “incompetent” Labour Mayor of having to forfeit billions successful cardinal authorities backing for lodging erstwhile Jenrick held the communities brief.

“It’s progressively unaffordable, unsafe, harder to get around,” helium says, highlighting the epidemic of weapon crime.

“It's unaffordable due to the fact that the lodging situation has spiralled nether Sadiq Khan, and that's having immensely harmful impacts upon people, from young radical who are stuck successful level shares, to families and susceptible radical incapable to get good-quality imperishable housing.”

In information implicit 14 years, the Conservatives ne'er came adjacent to their home-building targets and were accused of actively styming readying reforms to the payment of developers and section “Nimby” opponents.

There was nary shortage of fiscal scandals. Jenrick came backmost from a perchance career-ending imbroglio involving a luxury lodging improvement by erstwhile porn baron turned Daily Express proprietor Richard Desmond.

The Mayor and London councils besides basal accused by Jenrick of imposing onerous conditions connected pubs and restaurants, including by blocking 1 measurement helium pushed arsenic communities caput to let much al-fresco dining.

Khan’s “nightlife tsar” Amy Lamé has been a “complete failure”, helium says, portion insisting that the hapless Tory mayoral hopeful Susan Hall was a “good candidate” contempt reasonably crushing grounds to the contrary.

The Conservative has 3 daughters aged 13, 11 and 9 with his Israeli-born wife, Michal Berkner, who similar him is simply a lawyer. Like Lady Victoria Starmer, Ms Berkner is of Jewish heritage. The children successful some families are being raised by their parents to beryllium conscious of their mixed taste and spiritual inheritance.

Discussion of the household is off-limits but Jenrick is blessed to callback the “Conservative values” helium and his elder sister inherited from their begetter - a state fitter turned tiny businessman - and mother, who was a secretary.

While Sir Keir has reluctantly opened up astir the hard narration helium had with his begetter (who was a toolmaker, lest we forget), Jenrick talks fondly astir his parents, who are some inactive alive. He remains adjacent to his sister, a London property agent.

“They're pursuing this (leadership race) with interest,” helium says of his parents, though they tin beryllium his “harshest critics” - particularly his mother.

“My mum is an avid watcher of the Parliament transmission - and past texts maine her proposal connected everything from what I accidental to whether my necktie is done up properly, oregon whether my garment is tucked in,” says the MP, who has mislaid 4 stones successful the past 12 months. He says helium took the weight-loss cause Ozempic for six weeks.

The Tory was a modern of Health Secretary Wes Streeting astatine Cambridge, wherever helium worked connected the pupil paper Varsity, but declines to accidental erstwhile they past spoke. He laughs disconnected immoderate proposition that helium mightiness person pursued journalism alternatively of becoming a firm solicitor aft graduating. “I was benignant of an effort situation quality editor,” helium says.

One of his “oldest friends” from Cambridge is Katie White, the recently elected Labour MP for Leeds North West, and the Tory says helium is blessed to scope crossed the governmental aisle.

But if helium wins successful November, helium vows that Prime Minister’s Questions each Wednesday other Sir Keir volition stay an adversarial bear-pit. The play joust is not “old-fashioned” and “it's incredibly important that you trial your governmental leaders and that ideas are debated robustly”.

There was nary much robust debater than Robert Kennedy. His was a conflict of ideas acceptable for the ages. (The calamity of his beingness has fixed mode to farce successful the vocation of his namesake son, who ended a bizarre tilt astatine the White House successful August.)

The incongruous reminder of the Democratic firebrand successful Jenrick’s bureau brings to caput 1 of the large put-downs of US governmental history.

In 1988, Republican Dan Quayle was 41 - a twelvemonth younger than Jenrick present - and had served lone 12 years successful Congress erstwhile helium was chosen arsenic President George H.W. Bush’s moving mate.

In a TV statement with Democratic VP campaigner Lloyd Bentsen, Quayle defended his inexperience by noting that John F. Kennedy had been successful Congress for lone 14 years erstwhile helium ran successful 1960.

Bentsen retorted that helium had served with President Kennedy, that they were friends, and stressed: “Senator, you're nary Jack Kennedy."

We’ll person to spot whether determination is simply a TV statement organised betwixt the past 2 Tory candidates standing. But it’ll instrumentality much than a badge to seal Robert Jenrick’s transformation, and that of his enfeebled party.