Stick or Twist: What Farage’s Bobby J gamble means for Planet Reform
Daniel Wild, Associate Director | Public Affairs and Corporate Communications
Following Reform UK’s first shadow cabinet announcements earlier in the week, many were perhaps surprised by the choice of Robert Jenrick over Richard Tice MP for ‘Shadow Chancellor’.
Up to this point, Tice has not only been one of Reform’s most experienced voices on the political economy and business, but has also spearheaded a lot of the party’s engagement including a ‘fireside chat’ at Bloomberg last November, which was even noted publicly at the time as a “rite of passage” reserved for Chancellors and Chancellors in waiting.
From being inside the room at Reform’s latest economic press conference yesterday, introducing Robert Jenrick as their new shadow chancellor, the rationale behind this appointment was made abundantly clear. Communication.
It’s clear that Farage has landed on a compromise, Jenrick as the outward facing economic mouthpiece, with Tice controlling a business, trade, energy brief that essentially matches that of a chancellor. However, learning from the mistakes of parties past and present, Farage has decided to prioritise communication as much as substance.
Since his resignation as Immigration Minister, Jenrick has become notorious for his ability to deliver complex or ‘SW1 issues’ in a way that is digestible but more importantly impactful with the general public. Crucially, Jenrick has an ability to present as someone who has his finger on the pulse of the issues bothering the man and woman on the street. The same metaphor that has been used for Farage since his post 2016 ascendancy.
In now typical Reform UK style, the news conference began with a lengthy ‘Rule-Britannia-esque’ video where Jenrick outlined his economic philosophy with anecdotes of his hard working family, drawing on the new quasi-copyrighted phrase ‘Alarm Clock Britain’ - something that businesses of all sizes must pay attention to if they intend to lobby Reform UK. Understandably given his time in public office and the likely gap to the next general election, the speech itself offered little in terms of concrete policy, with loose commitments to cutting waste that still wouldn’t even halve the amount the UK pays servicing its national debt. Some policy positions, such as debt control, were reaffirmed (echoing almost verbatim from how Tice has presented this before) and some positions, notably that on the two child benefit cap, were reversed not for the first time.
The event was not about substance. It was about delivery - and from speaking to businesses in the room, our impression is that they continue to be assured on the way Reform delivers their ethos on business. To no surprise, questions from the press pushed on specific policy; student loans, triple lock etc. but Jenrick deflected in a way that kept coherence and delivered exactly what Reform were hoping for with this appointment. Someone who can be cool under pressure and communicate their answers (or non-answers) in a way that the general public can understand and relate to.
Mounting pressure on Labour across the policy spectrum and the political legacy of the Tories leaves them both in political communication quicksand. Being able to effectively communicate, without sole reliance on Farage, is clearly where Reform want to draw a line leading up to May and beyond. They will see that no matter what the traditional two parties offer; sometimes literally offering cash in the case of Pride in Place, the message is not cutting through. Reform UK are betting on communicators; to take complex or controversial issues and translate them in a way that can resonate with people from all places and backgrounds. Even Conservatives will admit that Robert Jenrick is one of the best at this, and with cabinet experience he can also utilise his communication skills to pacify the bond markets.
What everyone wants to know if there is a ‘Jenrick-Jeopardy’ factor kick in for Reform. A simple answer comes in Reform’s policy making process. With Welsh and Scottish manifestos almost locked, how does the introduction of a new Shadow Chancellor; not to mention an outspoken Education Secretary in Suella Braverman, fit into that picture? We’ve known for a while that policy remains a tight circle, but that circle has to get bigger if there is to be any justification for a shadow cabinet. We’ve seen movements on the two-child benefit cap, with hints to triple lock in the future - and there will undoubtedly be more to come in terms of internal policy conflict as Bobby J embeds in Planet Reform.
