Former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has revealed her sadness over a message from a one-time close colleague following her defection to Reform UK.
Speaking on GB News after announcing her move to Nigel Farage’s party, Jenkyns said: “I have had some lovely messages, a couple not that pleasant. Even one from a good friend of mine, which I’m very saddened about.”
The former Tory MP maintained she still has allies within her previous party, stating: “I’ve got friends in the Conservative Party and there are still some good conservatives.”
Jenkyns was unveiled as Reform UK’s 100,000th member at a press conference in central London on Thursday.
Andrea Jenkyns explained her decision to join Reform
GB NEWS
The announcement included her selection as the party’s candidate for Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire in next May’s election.
Describing her decision to leave the Conservatives, Jenkyns said: “The truth is undeniable: the ship is sinking and perhaps, sadly, beyond salvage but enough is enough. It is time to step aboard a movement with vision and purpose.”
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Nigel Farage introduced her at the conference, telling supporters she was “extraordinary” and had “every chance of winning” the mayoral seat.
Despite some negative reactions, Jenkyns indicated that most responses to her defection had been positive, telling GB News: “All in all, people have been good.”
She hinted at potential further Conservative defections, saying there had been “conversations in the background” with other possible candidates.
“There’s a few who lost their seat… I mean, I don’t want to embarrass them by mentioning their names, I wouldn’t do that,” she added.
While maintaining party loyalty was important to her, Jenkyns noted: “I might not be loyal to prime ministers, as we’ve seen in the past, but I’m loyal to parties.”
Dame Andrea Jenkyns served as a Conservative MP from 2015 until this year, notably defeating Ed Balls to win the Morley and Outwood seat.
She briefly held the position of education minister during the Liz Truss administration, departing after the government’s collapse.
Her alignment with Nigel predates her defection, having famously featured his photo on her Conservative election leaflets.
Despite this connection, she had previously engaged in a bitter public row with Reform UK earlier this year, strongly denying allegations from Richard Tice about bribing a Reform election rival.
She lost her seat in July’s general election, finishing second to Labour in Leeds South West and Morley.
