Am I having some kind of fever dream? Robert Jenrick

[Chalo]

Am I having some kind of waking fever dream or was Robert Jenrick part of the Conservative governments he’s now busily accusing of failing Britain? It almost feels like gaslighting.

Not that I want to be a Nf defender. But on the two main issues he has built his political career on for 30 years (immigration and leaving the EU) he has been entirely consistent.

TBF Nigel Farage is the one person in politics who has been consistent for 30 years

This is absolutely true. He has been disingenuous and self serving consistently for 30 years.

Because I am centre right. Conservatives and Reform are the only option.

It all seems like a dream when they are gaslighting us so much. Politicians with principles are rare these days

They'll all fall out, Tice, Lee, the new Tories. Also isn't Nigel meant to be difficult to work for?

...and wanted to limit immigration and leave the EU.

You are calling a man authentic who once claimed to be able to increase women’s breast size by hypnosis.
snake oil salesmen are nothing new in politics!

There is something nasty and destabilizing about it in a way. I mean the reality is that this cosy two party system is breaking down. But it will certainly affect a lot of assumptions and standards of living for more people. We seem complacent about it.

He’ll go to Reform and be guaranteed to keep his seat, as the vast majority of homogeneously white, illiterate, knuckle-draggers in his constituency will vote for them. Not that I’m at all suggesting that the local facebook page is a true representation of Newark.😉 Although they did have an actual nazi candidate in the last election and I’m not entirely sure he lost his deposit!

Southwell is another matter though - I expect they’d prefer a Lib Dem or Green, but unfortunately their peasant neighbours in Newark (they only go there for the Waitrose) will decide it.
He’s an utterly useless MP and only got in at the by-election election because UKIP were crawling all over the place, their rape apologist candidate Roger Helmer was an even worse option and immigration wasn’t quite the issue then as it is now. Jenrick made all sorts of promises to move to his constituency, but surprise surprise, he only pops up for a photo op.

It’s a shame. Newark used to have a personable and half decent Tory MP (I say this as an almost former Labour supporter) in the form of Patrick Mercer, who unfortunately, as well as getting caught with his pants down, was also stung by a cash for questions scandal involving a foreign sugar producer- and there is a sugar beet processing factory in the town so you can only imagine the added uproar.

Total mess.

This is it.

I like Robert Jenrick. Today’s move was inevitable once the disastrous outcome of the last GE was confirmed.

Hopefully this is another step towards the total obliteration of Labour that the country so badly needs right now.

Ironic, then, that his years of striving to leave the EU were also years of striving to leave the Dublin Regulation – leading directly and predictably to an increase in illegal immigration.

Funny, I don't remember him mentioning that in his Brexit campaign...

He did nothing constructive about either when he was an MEP.

I live in Newark and though I’m white my knuckles don’t drag and I’m not part of the local Facebook page either . I didnt vote for him as a Tory and won’t as a Reform candidate. I do see him often in a cafe when I’m in town but happily blank him .

So now Farage does trust Tories? Ffsake.

www.facebook.com/TheReformPartyUK/videos/the-conservative-party-has-already-quietly-ditched-their-policy-on-indefinite-le/1536104917402499/

What do you like so much about him?

Quite. Immigration is well proven to be a benefit. As for leaving the EU, Farage had the second lowest attendance rate of any MEP apart from one who was disabled and physically couldn't attend, so how would he even know what the EU was all about? Most of his points were made up out of thin air, and had no basis in fact. And then, when the referendum vote came in, what did he do? Did he say "right everyone, we've won. Here's the plan", or did he just FRO like the disruptor he is?

It just beggars belief. The only thing I can credit him with is making the incredible sound credible.

Oh god Polanski! He's another snake oil salesman. He and Farage are two cheeks of the same arse.

Depressing that people so willingly fall for their schtick

I think you must mean obliteration of the Tory Party.

Labour didn’t run the country into the ground over 14 years.

It was the Conservative Party and the morons who voted for them

That's because he backed remain.

Self-serving is right. There are some politicians who I might nor agree with but I can understand that they belive in their politics and work hard to improve the country. Robert Jenrick does not come across that way at all.

We had huge amounts of illegal immigration before Brexit. They just came on lorries.

I think NF was more exercised at the inability to control legal immigration though due to Blair opening the gates to the new eastern block EU members. And the EU refusing to negotiate with Cameron saying they could never close Schengen borders. (Which is now happening so that was a bit silly)

"Immigration is well proven to be a benefit"

Not all. Which is why its the number one issue in the UK.

My post was about Farage, whom a PP was describing as being consistent in wanting to simultaneously a) limit immigration but b) also leave the EU.

Sorry, I should have made it clearer.

I think we've got three main parties now:
Labour
Trad-Conservatives
Rightwing anti-migration small-state neoliberals (Reform)

LibDems are losing relevance, not surprising ... if your main feature as a party is that you're very pro-Europe and anti-Brexit, but it's 10 years after the Brexit vote, you need a new look. Not sure they have the right leadership to correct that.

Received wisdom has it that our first past the post system squeezes out new parties but the last major new party which attracted former Cabinet ministers was a centre party, the SDP. Which seemed to have been founded on the idea that some people like cheese & onion, others like salt & vinegar, therefore if you invent cheese & vinegar flavour it will naturally be the most popular.

Reform is not that. I think they will win the most seats at the next election as they are making an effort to tailor their policies to what the electorate wants - whether they can deliver is another matter but the old Tories have failed and Labour will fail so I think the voters will see it as a low-cost gamble.

NF isn't in power though.

Brexit limited EU immigration.

Boris increased non EU immigration. He didnt control the borders.

Illegal immigration (while hugely important) doesnt contribute massively to the huge overall immigration figures.