So here’s Robert Jenrick — the man who managed, in a single day, to get sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet for secretly plotting to defect and immediately turn up on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK lectern like a bonus recruit. Apparently, Kemi Badenoch had “irrefutable evidence” that he was cooking up a back-door switch that would do maximum damage to his own party, and the result was basically a political slapstick routine: dump him from the Tories at lunchtime and there he is by teatime, grinning beside the very leader he once sniped at from across the Commons. Pure Westminster pantomime.

And then there’s the whole Farage dynamic — once upon a time, Nigel Farage seemed to think Jenrick was a fraud (yes, really) and not exactly a Reform house-mate you’d invite to your party. But politics being the woman-and-man-eating arena it is, now Farage is offering him drinks and a platform, because nothing says political consistency like embracing the same bloke you once publicly dissed. If Jenrick really does think he’s “uniting the right” rather than just uniting his own ego with a new logo, well — that’s either optimism or delusion with a splash of opportunism. Either way, it fits Reform’s current vibe: a big tent where even the guy who got marched out of his old party can stroll straight in and hold forth about how he’s come home to save Britain.

Andrew Rosindell’s arrival in Reform UK feels less like a political defection and more like a casting decision. If the brief was “embittered Tory veteran with unresolved baggage and a permanent air of grievance,” then congratulations — nailed it. After years of loudly declaring that the Conservatives weren’t right-wing enough for him, Rosindell has finally found a party where nostalgia masquerades as ideology and outrage counts as a policy platform. Reform, ever the welcoming host, seems to operate on a simple rule: if you’re furious at modern Britain and willing to shout about it on GB News, there’s always room at the table.

And then there’s the unavoidable footnote — the allegations. Rosindell was arrested in 2022 over accusations of rape and indecent assault, which he has consistently denied and which ultimately led to no charges being brought. Legally, that’s the end of it. Politically, however, it’s the sort of cloud that most parties would prefer not to invite indoors — unless, of course, your brand already thrives on the idea that everyone else is corrupt, the system is rigged, and accountability is just another woke inconvenience. In that sense, Rosindell fits Reform UK perfectly: a party that markets itself as the antidote to establishment rot while quietly assembling a greatest hits album of disgruntled ex-Tories, personal controversies, and men who insist they’re victims of everything except their own choices. If Reform is the future of the right, it’s less a clean break and more a reunion tour — and not the kind anyone was asking for.

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice had a rough time on Times Radio, where he insisted his party never promised to cut council tax — despite, well, the party’s own leaflets literally saying “we will cut your taxes.” When host Stig Abell pointed out that Reform campaign materials in Warwickshire and Worcestershire made those exact promises, Tice called the reporting “an untruth” and demanded a correction. Bold move, considering the receipts were sitting right there.

Even when confronted with the evidence, Tice doubled down, claiming Reform only ever vowed to “cut waste,” not taxes. Unfortunately for him, local voters might not see the difference — especially since Reform-run councils are now planning to raise council tax in most of the areas they control. Turns out the real waste might be all the ink spent printing those promises.

Candidate: Sharon Carby, a resident of Bradford (not Croydon), chosen as Reform UK’s candidate for Croydon Mayor.

Circumstance: Unbeknownst to Reform UK‘s central or local branch, she had already died in July 2024.

Timing: Her nomination occurred approximately six months after her death, so sometime around January 2025

Inside Croydon News Minimalist .

Reaction: Local Reform members claim they attempted to inform party leadership of the error but were apparently disregarded. Thus, at present, the only known Reform UK candidate named for the Croydon mayoral race was deceased at the time of selection. There’s no information about whether a replacement candidate has since been appointed. Croydon’s mayoral election is scheduled for May 7, 2025.

He is a councillor in Devon CC. He has apologised so that’s all right then…