Reform have brought in the latest big hitter on the Kent County Council by-election trail with the party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick travelling to Kingsgate today (March 12).
Mr Jenrick, the former Conservative Minister of State for Immigration and then Shadow Secretary of State for Justice prior to his defection to Reform UK in January, was in Thanet to back Cliftonville division candidate Marc Rattigan and used the visit to voice Reform views on small boat crossings.
Cllr Rattigan, who is a district councillor and also a former Tory who defected to Reform this month, was joined by Mr Jenrick for canvassing before meeting supporters at the Botany Bay Hotel.
Mr Jenrick said: “We want to get Marc elected to the council. He has lived in the area for years and runs a successful and respected business and is a good councillor for Thanet who has made a massive impact.”
Asked why this by-election is so important, Mr Jenrick said: “It is an opportunity for local residents to send a very strong message to Keir Starmer that they are sick of Labour and the failings of government nationally but also stand up for local residents who, in particular, are worried about the amount of illegal migrants continuing to come across the Channel and the concern that more and more homes are going to be used as HMOs housing illegal migrants, bringing problems into the community that no-one wants to see.
“Having Marc, who is someone with a business background and can do attitude, will give the area and the residents the champion it obviously needs right now, who can take up issues which we have been hearing about today like the state of the roads, green spaces, ensuring there’s not overdevelopment that ruins the countryside.”
On the point of immigration and irregular routes, such as small boat crossings, coming under national rather than county policy, Mr Jenrick said: “The more Reform councillors we have, the stronger the message we send nationally that we are sick of seeing so many people coming into the country illegally – and there are things that can be taken up locally such as HMOs for example. It is the government strategy now to slowly move away from migrant hotels and put everybody into HMOs.
“That means you’ve got undocumented young men who come across illegally in small boats and end up living in a house next door to yours. That is the last thing that people want to see.”
Cllr Rattigan added: “It’s a clear message that the only way to stop this is by getting Nigel (Farage) into number 10 and the only way we are going to do that is by winning local elections to build up that support.”
Mr Jenrick added: “If we want to get real change in the country, win the next general election, have a Reform government and kick out Keir Starmer and the Labour Party.
“We’ve got to build support across the country and we do that one council ward at a time.”
Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran was also at the gathering to show her support for Cllr Rattigan.
The KCC Cliftonville division seat is vacant after the former councillor Daniel Taylor was jailed for 12 months for coercive behaviour towards his wife.
Taylor had been elected with 40% of the vote as part of the Reform landslide last May when it took 57 or the 81 seats at County Hall.
He was kicked out of the party after his arrest came to light but continued in his role as an Independent until he was convicted.
The April 9 poll will be run by Thanet District Council.
*The Shadow Cabinet at government level is made up of the official opposition which is Conservative not Reform.
“Mr Jenrick, the former Conservative Minister of State for Immigration ”
didnt do a very good job of keeping them boat people out did he.. and now hes with reform., outstanding
Yes, all the same people that messed everything up, that promised to control immigration for a decade or more as Tories, now claiming they will really do it! They really wouldn’t still just blame it on Brussels, human rights & general bureaucracy.
Of course their grifting leader already stated in a Gbeebies interview he has no interest in tackling immigration-before he started pretending he would again a few months back that grifted money off the EU for decades that he said he hated & imported multiple wives/partners from the EU-using one of them to obtain German passports for two of his kids & was seen lining up for one himself just after his Brexit grift backfired-what a patriot!
Does Mark really want a Tory from the failed Conservative government stading beside him? But then he was a Conservative himself a few days ago!
Marc last year stood as a conservative in the margate division, his vote went down from 40 percent to a paltry 9 percent,,coming 4th. A month ago he was a tory, reform is full of tory losers
Barry. Last year you lost your seat in Margate to a party that didn’t take part in the previous election. The winning candidate received over 210% of your share of votes cast. You predicted correctly it would be a three horse race. You came last in that race.
In fact it was a 5 horse race,,i came 3rd and marc rattigan came 4th
Robert Jenrick who as a Tory minister tried to help a friend avoid paying £40 million – yes milloin in tax.
Perhaps the banners they’re holding can be photo-shopped for when they next change parties?
Not shadow anything.
Only a shadow of his former self
Calling himself a shadow is insulting to Hank and Bruce!
What a great turnout of local Reform members and supporters. We are right behind Marc Rattigan, who has years of experience in local government, is a successful local businessman and a magistrate too! Cliftonville is lucky to have someone like Marc who will fight for the residents of Cliftonville. Vote Reform if you want proper representation for Cliftonville within KCC.
Glad you like former Tory turn-coats. At least you’re honest.
Maybe his wife/girlfriend or a Reform drone? Sounds like a usual puff piece, promotional rah-rah speech.
Of course Reform are right behind the Tory jumpers-the, the party is nothing but ex Tories, either washed-up, never-were or total opportunists jumping off the ship before it sinks for their own benefit. Farage, Tice, Anderson, Suella, Jenrick, Pochin, Kruger, Rossindell, Widdecombe, Bull, Cunningham, Gullis, Kemkaran etc.
Vote Reform get the same old Tories.
Awwww , is that you Sue !
Or is it Janet ?
I’m genuinely surprised that they all managed to get their placards the right way up for the photo. Well done, everyone.
Reform or Conservative. It doesn’t make much difference. The way things are going we are likely going to have a coalition government between these two parties at the next General Election and possibly across the new East Kent Council as well so the policies will likely merge into one anyway.
Labour got trounced in this seat last county election so, given they are even more unpopular now than last year, they really have got no chance. The Greens will swallow up loads of their voters leaving Reform with a clear path through.
Mr Jenrick, the former Conservative Minister of State for Immigration and then Shadow Secretary of State for Justice prior to his defection to Reform UK in January, was in Thanet to back Cliftonville division candidate Marc Rattigan and used the visit to voice Reform views on small boat crossings.
Cllr Rattigan, who is a district councillor and also a former Tory who defected to Reform this month, was joined by Mr Jenrick for canvassing before meeting supporters at the Botany Bay Hotel.
Yes-two more Tory rats fresh from jumping off the sinking ship, to join the Reform Tory grift. Not the right sex to be modelling Farage PLC’s rip-off football shirts (XXXXL permanently sold-out) though.
Hilarious Reform call themselves the shadow government-last I checked it went like this.
1. Liebour-404 MP’S
2. Tories-116 MP’S
3. Not Liberal Democrats-72 MP’S
4. Independent-13 MP’S
5. SNP-9 MPS
6. Reform The Tory Race Grifters-8 MP’S, only 4 of which actually won a democratic election-the other four jumped after being elected for the Conservatives!
Nice try, Jenrick. Do you really think we’re foolish enough to believe that the UK’s inequality gap is due to small boat arrivals rather than due to parasitic billionaires?
And are you hoping that ranting about illegal immigrants is sufficient to distract us from the illegal wars being started by your hero in Washington?
I’m beginning to like you.
Mr Jenrick said: “We want to get Marc elected to the council. He has lived in the area for years and runs a successful and respected business and is a good councillor for Thanet who has made a massive impact.” Seeing what a mess we have made of KCC & every other county council we have taken over he seems overqualified & totally unsuitable thinking about it.
Asked why this by-election is so important, Mr Jenrick said: “It is an opportunity for local, gullible bigots to swallow our only policy of race-baiting fearmongering. Just wave a Daily Mail/Express in front of their face or have one of our MP’s on Gbeebies with a migrants claiming millions in benefits every week headline & they will believe it without applying any logical thinking.
“Having Marc, who is someone like me who jumps to Reform (when our Tory party has destroyed itself & nobody will vote for us) for the lure of fame & fortune will give the run-down area and the residents the grifter it obviously needs right now, who can take up the flag waving issues which we have been hearing about from Reform endlessly like Migrants, Potholes, Churchill being replaced on banknotes by a badger, that will have the local brains of Britian coughing on their cornflakes & shaking their fist at the Patrick Christys show on GB News, as he smugly baits them into a foaming at the mouth frenzy.
On the point of immigration and irregular routes, such as small boat crossings, coming under national rather than county policy, Mr Jenrick said: “The more Reform councillors we have, the stronger the message we send nationally that we are sick of seeing so many people coming into the country illegally like hypocrite Nigel’s wives & partners & taking British jobs & the likes of hypocrite Richard Tice keep flying out to salute the UAE flag-while condemning UK Mooslims, while he is visiting his UK tax dodging partner journalist’ Isabel-er, is this right?
Cllr Rattigan added: “It’s a clear message that the only way to save my political career was jumping ship like a rat from the tanking Tories just like Robert, selling more overpriced football shirts for the benefit of Nigel (Farage) PLC’s bank account & making ourselves richer/powerful and the only way we are going to do that is by scaring 95% white Thanet into thinking they are being invaded by migrants & need to hang Union Jack & St George’s flags off every lamppost, sing the national anthem twice every hour, whine about the BBC/licence fee & call everything we don’t come up with/like as woke, lefty nonsense!
Mr Jenrick added: “If we want to get real change in the country, we have to win the next general election, have a Reform government full of the same old Tories who ruined the country for 14 years & promised it would control immigration-while letting it rise to record levels and kick out Keir Starmer and the Labour Party-as they have clearly replaced the Tories by having Maggie’s & our policies of attacking & blaming the disabled, unemployed, single parents, low waged people for all the problems & giving all their money we steal from them to greedy millionaires & billionaires like ourselves actually causing them instead.
Spot on
Spot on
The real question, looking at Fag Ash’s track record in Thanet will UKIP/Reform/Restore still be around in 2019 when the real Election comes around?
God help us, if insults are your only form of defence is sad, Nigel Farage, like him or not has worked tirelessly for this country for over 30 years, perhaps if you were to listen to one of Reforms latest Rallies you might educate yourself. Reform are nothing to do with Restore and if I remember correctly the Conservatives won in 2019.
Worked tirelessly to promotote hate and line his own pockets you mean? mans a grifter and a man who wants to bring trumps values to the UK. this isnt a goog thing
He has worked tirelessly for himself for over 30 years-to line his pockets & those of his rich pals.
If he was working hard for the UK, then he would have taken his EU job seriously & worked to get the best deals for the UK. Rather than spending 20 years sitting there hurling insults, waving flags, being as disruptive as possible & telling everybody how much he hated the place-though of course not the nearly 2k per week he was happily claiming all that time.
You might also ask why Reform is a PLC, rather than a political party & why he is flogging naff football shirts for ridiculous prices & getting the prominent female members of them to model them, yet not 30p Lee etc-including recently a win a dinner grift where the previously 100 quid signed shirt was now a ‘special limited edition’ 349 quid.
Rally is the right word-I have no interest in listening to the Nuremberg Rallies either. Of course you cannot escape him, just like you cannot escape his criminal, orange faced grifter pal from across the pond either & it is the same old Tory faces making the same old promises they didn’t keep for 14 years & will not if elected, while doing the Tory deal of blaming all of the UK woes on migrants, unemployed, single parents, single people, disabled etc-not the tax dodging super rich that Mr Jenrick liked to help avoid paying tax when in office, by using his power to rush things through so his rich donor mate could avoid a tax bill, at the expense of the public.
Perhaps you might ask yourself why Farage is claiming he will do the ICE routine here, when not that long ago he was on Gbeebies saying he couldn’t do anything about immigration & wouldn’t even bother to try to if elected as PM. Also why he said he would get rid of the child cap last year to score points before Liebour U-Turned & did it & now says he would put it back in place.
Don’t remember Restore being mentioned & they are a total non-entity so why would they be? Though of course the leader of that lot Rupert Lowe Bear Faced Cheek was elected as a Reform MP-fully supported & cheered on by Nigel & vice versa until he fell out with Nigel’s one man power trip & grift, like so many others do. The only difference between them appears to be is Farage would have the planes land to deport people, while Lowe from his comments would just like to throw them all out into the Atlantic or Indian Ocean.
Worked tirelessly for his pocket more like .
Westbrook Girl like him or not – he doesn’t give a jot about you or anybody . Educate yourself at a Reform rally , really ?
Are Local Gal & Westbrook Gal one & the same? I would say there cannot be two such deluded women/fangirls in Margate, but after seeing the video of the Cliftonville election vox pops on this websites YT channel, there were three of them & they sounded exactly as you would have expected them to from reading the article here.
You do realise that 2019 was 7 years ago?
To answer your question though, I believe that Reform (just like UKIP) will still be around in 3 years time, but it will be totally irrelevant, as Farage will replaced as leader and he’ll leave in a huff (again). There is no way disgruntled formerly high-ranking Tories will be happy to play second-fiddle to someone they don’t really like.
Yes Peter that was in answer to “God help us” Once again we will have to agree to differ but its nice to have pleasant exchange without being personal, unlike most on this thread.
I like everyone, me (besides, I lived in Westbrook for 19 years and might know you!).
It’s beginning to look like Brexit again, where an increasingly angry electorate, fed up with bureaucratic socialism, and crony capitalist toryism, pick up the wrong scent and go for an option that has consequences nobody thought of at the time.
If anyone thinks that sly,sound bite Reformism is the way to go, consider what has being going on at KCC, are the roads pot hole free? Are the buses running in profusion? Are our kids getting a better education or more old people receiving the social care they need? No, is the answer, and we should also remember that they in thrall to offshore donators and that tge FSB are quietly pulling the strings and supplying misinformation.As for the extreme left I would say be careful what you wish for, and Barry, I would lay odds of 2 to 1 on that this will all turn out badly.
Wise words, I just hope people remember them when voting