The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Rowena Mason Whitehall editor
Robert Jenrick, the leader of Reform UK, has criticized Kemi Badenoch, a Conservative MP, for being part of a metropolitan elite he calls "Kensington Kemi." At a press conference, Jenrick accused the Conservatives of catering to wealthy individuals rather than workers and mocked Badenoch's approval with phrases like “bungs for Belgravia” and Ottolenghi recipe struggles. He further likened any potential coalition between Reform UK and the Tories to being "handcuffed to a zombie," emphasizing that his party represents ordinary people, not elite interests.
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Story summary
Robert Jenrick, former Conservative MP now in Reform UK, has launched a scathing attack on Kemi Badenchoff, calling her part of a metropolitan elite and referring to her as “Kensington Kemi.” He accused the Tories of catering excessively to wealthy Londoners by offering tax breaks for non-doms and exempting property from inheritance taxes, labeling such policies "bungs for Belgravia." This comes amid declining relations between Reform UK and the Conservatives, with Badenoch dismissing any potential coalition deal as nonsensical. Jenrick's critique follows his mock portrayal at the Conservative conference as a crying baby on a satirical Bayeux tapestry, highlighting growing tensions within the political right in Britain.
Written for “Robert Jenrick Criticizes KemiDataStream” on 2026-10-09,
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Robert Jenrick has launched an extended attack on Kemi Badenoch for being part of a metropolitan elite, saying a coalition deal with the Tories would be like being “handcuffed to a zombie”.
asserted
deal → launch → zombie
The Reform UK shadow chancellor repeatedly called the Tory leader “Kensington Kemi” and claimed her party was for people who moan about the decline of Mayfair clubs and complain that they cannot find Ottolenghi recipe ingredients in the shops.
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they → call → shops
He accused his former party of handing out “bungs for Belgravia” after the party used its autumn conference to say property would be exempted from inheritance tax, and to extend free childcare to higher earners.
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property → accuse → earners
His attacks on Badenoch, whose approval ratings have improved with the public, come at a time of deteriorating relations between the Conservatives and Reform UK.
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ratings → improve → Conservatives
Jenrick, who defected to Reform UK earlier this year, was the target of much mockery at Conservative conference, where he was depicted in multiple places on a satirical Bayeux tapestry of the political landscape as a crying baby.
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he → defect → baby
In her conference speech, Badenoch firmly ruled out any move to “unite the right” with a deal between Reform and the Tories, questioning who would want to join with a party that made her British-born mixed-race children feel as though they were not English.
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they → rule → party
The Reform leader, Nigel Farage, downplayed the idea of a post-electoral pact on Thursday, saying it was “extremely unlikely”.
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it → downplay → Thursday
But Jenrick took a tougher line against the Conservatives in his press conference on Friday, saying they were “nothing more than a metropolitan pressure group for the wealthiest” and likening a tie-up to being “handcuffed to a zombie”.
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they → take → zombie
“Kensington Kemi knows who her people are.
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people → know → ?
Millionaires, not Mansfield,” Jenrick said.
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Jenrick → say → Millionaires
She’s for people who complain that Mayfair clubs aren’t what they used to be.
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they → ’ → people
For people who struggle to find all the ingredients for that Ottolenghi recipe.
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who → struggle → recipe
And people whose lives have got almost nothing in common with my constituents in Newark.”
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lives → get → Newark
Jenrick made the attacks on the Tories for having “retreated into the hinterland of Kensington and Chelsea” despite a number of senior Reform figures having lived in the area.
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number → make → area
Farage previously rented a house in Kensington and Chelsea during the Brexit years, paid for by the leave donor Arron Banks, and Nick Candy, the party’s honorary treasurer and property billionaire, sold his £275m Chelsea mansion this year.
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Candy → rent → mansion
Last year, Farage and Candy jointly announced a policy specifically designed to appeal to billionaires, offering them a flat £250,000 tax rate for non-dom status to attract the wealthy to London, during which he bemoaned the “very rapid exodus” from central London and how it is “tough to sell a house” in Kensington and Chelsea.
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it → announce → Kensington
Farage is also famously a member of an exclusive Mayfair club, 5 Hertford Street, while the party held its fundraiser at the trendy Oswald’s in Mayfair last year.
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party → hold → Mayfair
Asked whether Reform was also the party of billionaires, Jenrick said it was focused on delivering tax cuts for 40 million middle earners.
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it → ask → earners
Jenrick also faced questions regarding the suggestion by Reform UK figures that Badenoch could not be English because of her Nigerian heritage.
uncertain
Badenoch → face → heritage
He said the debate was “pretty overblown” and that it was possible to distinguish ethnicity, cultural identity and citizenship.
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it → say → ethnicity
That is whether or not you ascribe to, you assimilate to, our heritage, our culture, our norms, our manners.
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you → ascribe → heritage
He said he was most concerned about people who have a British passport but “do not love our country”.
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who → say → country
Jenrick went on to defend his comments about the “Islamification” of the UK, which have now been reported to the police and the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme.
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which → go → police
He did not address the police reports, but doubled down by saying there was an increase in the use of sharia law, and of instances of young girls being forced to cover their faces, and churches being turned into mosques, which he said would not happen under a Reform government.
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he → address → government
The Aporia
