Robert Jenrick - MP for Newark / Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Robert Jenrick, MP for Newark / Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. Reform UK.
Role: MP for Newark / Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Party: Reform UK
Recorded incidents (showing 1-9 of 9)
Robert Jenrick denied Reform UK is chauvinistic
Category: other
Robert Jenrick denied that Reform UK is chauvinistic after fellow MP Sarah Pochin was filmed in an undercover investigation describing the party as "so f***** chauvinistic" and saying women were excluded. He defended the party’s vetting processes, said all parties have "bad apples" and defended Nigel Farage after further footage was released. The undercover investigation recorded councillors and candidates using racist and misogynistic language and prompted several councillors to resign or be suspended, which challenges Jenrick’s denial. Jenrick said the individuals shown had been suspended or asked to resign and reiterated that the party had acted where members behaved inappropriately; Reform UK said investigations had begun and its leader said vetting cannot predict future comments.
Robert Jenrick filmed chasing and confronting suspected shoplifters
Category: social media conduct
Robert Jenrick filmed himself following, confronting and recording people he said had shoplifted in London and posted the clips on X. In the videos he pursues individuals carrying bottles, questions them about taking items and is shown returning a bottle of Dr Pepper to a shop. The posts were captioned with language dismissing parts of the country as "feral" and saying "If nobody else will confront them, I will." The footage drew heavy criticism on social media, with users calling Jenrick hypocritical and pointing to his past government decision approving a development that critics say helped billionaire donor Richard Desmond avoid paying £45 million in tax. Others compared the videos to Jenrick's defence of a Reform supporter filmed assaulting protesters at the party conference. Critics said the confrontations highlighted a contrast between his public stance on low-level crime and his record on actions benefiting wealthy interests.
Robert Jenrick defends Sunderland council's decision to cut funding for anti-racism charity
Category: racism
Robert Jenrick (mp, East Midlands) defended Sunderland City Council after it ended a 30-year partnership and withdrew funding from the football anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card. He said it was reasonable for a local authority to make choices about which charities and organisations it supports and for taxpayers' money to be allocated accordingly. The council's leader, Christopher Eynon, said the authority would not support politically charged organisations with an agenda, and the council cited comments by the charity's chief executive Ged Grebby as evidence of political bias. The decision prompted criticism from the Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Philipson, local Labour MPs and former Sunderland player Gary Bennett, and the charity said the move suggested the council was unsupportive of equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives; the council and Reform UK Wearside said the action was not intended to weaken opposition to racism.
Robert Jenrick tells assaulted protester to 'get a life'
Category: inflammatory language
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s treasury spokesperson and an MP, said on Sky News that a protester who had been physically attacked after disrupting Nigel Farage’s keynote speech should "get a life" and dismissed the incident as a consequence of trying to disrupt a party conference. He interrupted the presenter during discussion of footage showing at least one female protester having her hair pulled and her head grabbed by attendees. Footage from the conference showed the protester being physically attacked, and West Midlands Police said they were aware of a video and asked the woman involved to come forward so enquiries could be carried out. Jenrick remains Reform UK’s treasury spokesperson and no party disciplinary action is reported in relation to his comments; the police statement noted no complaint had yet been received.
Robert Jenrick dismisses protester dragged by her hair at Reform conference
Category: inflammatory language
Robert Jenrick dismissed a female protester who had been dragged by her hair at Reform UK's party conference in Birmingham, describing her as a far-left protester and minimising her complaint about being struck with a crutch. He characterised her actions as an attempt to wreck the leader's speech and told a broadcaster she should get a life, framing the incident as theatrics rather than a safety concern. West Midlands police said they were aware of footage of the incident and asked the woman involved to come forward. Jenrick remains Reform's treasury spokesperson and an MP; There is no report any formal disciplinary action against him in relation to his remarks about the protester.
Robert Jenrick accuses Kemi Badenoch of inventing quotes
Category: inflammatory language
Robert Jenrick (mp, East Midlands) attacked Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch at a Reform UK press conference, accusing her of inventing what Giorgia Meloni had said and advising her not to invent quotes from foreign leaders. He described the episode as embarrassing for Badenoch and warned that visiting a foreign leader did not justify making up remarks attributed to them. The remarks came amid controversy over Badenoch’s account of a private meeting with Meloni and an amended newspaper article about that meeting; Badenoch had posted a selfie praising Meloni on social media. A Conservative spokesperson said the party had not made false claims and accused Reform of peddling conspiracy theories; Jenrick is recorded as a Reform MP and has not faced a formal sanction over the comment.
Robert Jenrick backs Reform UK welfare plan proposing ban on non‑UK citizens claiming benefits
Category: xenophobia
Robert Jenrick co-wrote a foreword for Reform UK's published welfare plan alongside party leader Nigel Farage, endorsing proposals to tighten eligibility for disability payments, bar non-UK citizens from claiming benefits and introduce compulsory unpaid community work for some long-term unemployed claimants. The proposals include replacing PIP and part of universal credit with a single flat-rate health allowance, tightening PIP eligibility so an estimated 2.9 million people could lose cash payments, and reintroducing the two-child benefit limit. Campaigners and disability charities warned the package would push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty and cause increased hardship, and an internal analysis showed some claimants could lose up to £10,000 a year. Jenrick said the most vulnerable needs would be protected and that disabled people could claim for genuine extra costs, though the party did not specify how such payments would be calculated; the plans remain those published by Reform UK and the party projects large savings and increased employment.
Robert Jenrick vows mass deportations and to scrap the ECHR
Category: xenophobia
On 23 January 2026 Robert Jenrick, a former Conservative immigration minister who had recently defected to Reform UK, said on the Daily Expresso show that a Reform government would deploy Royal Navy vessels in the English Channel to stop small boat crossings. He said the party would scrap the European Convention on Human Rights and carry out "deportations on a very big scale" to remove people in the UK without the right to live here. He also said Reform would set a legally binding cap on migration aiming for "net zero or lower". Jenrick said the measures would include detention and deportation back to a person’s own country or to a third country. He said he would establish a new borders department and described the Home Office as not fit for purpose. Jenrick made the remarks after joining Nigel Farage’s party and they set out policy positions he is promoting within Reform UK.
Robert Jenrick calls for ban on the burqa
Category: discriminatory remark
Robert Jenrick called for a ban on the burqa while speaking at the Conservative Party conference, urging that the full-face veil should be prohibited in public. The remark targeted a practice associated with Muslim women and was made in a political speech to a party audience. The proposal drew criticism from campaigners, commentators and politicians who described it as racist and Islamophobic and called for an apology. Some commentators also criticised Conservative figures, including Kemi Badenoch, for their responses to Jenrick's comments; there is no record in the sources of a disciplinary sanction arising from the remark.