ROBERT Jenrick said he is “sick” of seeing Gaza flags flown on British streets and we should be “one country under one flag” – the Union Jack.
The Tory big beast tore into self-loathing universities and town halls who celebrate every other nationality apart from our own.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick says Brits need to reclaim ‘pride in our country’[/caption]
The Sun’s Kate Ferguson gave Mr Jenrick a grilling at Jenny’s Cafe in Newark[/caption]
Mr Jenrick believes ‘we should be one country under one flag’[/caption]
And he called for Brits to reclaim “pride in our country” by flying the union flag in their neighbourhoods.
It sets him on a collision course with PM Sir Keir Starmer, who has warned that populists are using the union flag to stoke division and violence in Britain.
Watch Kate’s Political Lunch Dates with Robert Jenrick on our YouTube channel here…
The shadow justice secretary launched the blistering attack as he appeared in The Sun’s new YouTube Show, Kate’s Political Lunch Dates.
In the no holds barred sitdown, he also warned the Conservative Party must “fight back” or risk being wiped out as a political force in Britain.
Mr Jenrick said: “I think that people are sick of seeing the Gaza flag being put up on lamp posts.
“I don’t want foreign flags on our public buildings. I don’t want to see them on the streets.”
Backing thousands of Brits have put up the union flag and flag of St George in a national outpouring of patriotism, Mr Jenrick said: “I want people to feel a genuine sense of pride in our country.
“That means people putting up flags of the United Kingdom and the nations of our country.
“We should be one country under one flag.
“I am sick of people putting up flags of other countries at institutions like universities and schools and councils celebrating every other identity other than our own.
“Enough is enough of that.”
His excoriating attack comes as Sir Keir today makes his big ‘take back the flag’ speech where he will try to seize the union jack back from what he dubs populists.
Speaking at his local cafe, Jenny’s, in his constituency in Newark, Nottinghamshire, Mr Jenrick also issued a stark wake up call to the Conservative Party, telling them to fight – or face wipeout.
Mr Jenrick said: “I think the Conservative Party has got to fight back now.
“We are a 200-year-old political party. But no political party has some kind of divine right to exist – even one that’s served the country for a long time and produced Churchill and Thatcher.
“What we have got to do now as a party is step up and put our foot on the gas. We have got to be honest about the mistakes we have made.
TORIES MUST ‘CHANGE’
“We have got to change, change, change.”
His blistering assessment comes just a week before the Tory Party conference – seen as a make or break moment for Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.
The Tories suffered their worst ever election defeat in 2024, and since then their ratings have plummeted even lower.
Reform UK is storming ahead and a growing number of Conservatives have defected.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is a ‘good bloke to go to the pub with’ but you wouldn’t want him running your kids’ school, says Mr Jenrick[/caption]
Mr Jenrick refuses to criticise his party’s leader Kemi Badenoch[/caption]
But Mr Jenrick – who ran for Tory leadership last year and narrowly lost – tore into the prospect of Nigel Farage in No10.
He said: “My view is this: Nigel is a good bloke to go to the pub with and he speaks to a lot of people in the country.
“But I don’t think Nigel’s the kind of bloke you want to have running your kids’ schools, or running your local hospital.
“Or – as the public finances continue to collapse under Rachel Reeves – trust with your savings, your pension, your small business.
“I’m not sure if Nigel actually thinks he is the right person to do that himself.”
In a shockingly candid confession he admitted the Tories failed Britain on immigration.
Mr Jenrick was Immigration Minister under Rishi Sunak but quit after No10 refused to go harder on border curbs.
Menu
What they both ate
Kate Ferguson:
Bacon sandwich with brown sauce
Cup of milky tea
Caramel and chocolate flapjack
Robert Jenrick
Bacon cob with tomato ketchup
Cup of tea
Cornflake cake
“You have got migration where politician after politician has been making promises only to break them – sometimes sticking two fingers up to them – creating an immigration system that was the opposite of what they promised”, he fumed.
Asked if the blame for record numbers lies with Boris Johnson, he replied: “It was bigger than one person, it goes back 25 years to Tony Blair.
“But the last Conservative government made big mistakes. It let people down.”
‘BREATHING SPACE’
Britain needs “breathing space” and must have a period where more people leave the country than are let in, he said.
Elected as Newark MP in a by-election in 2014, Mr Jenrick was originally seen as yet another grey-suited Tory David Cameron.
But he has been on a transformation – physically and politically.
The shadow justice secretary, 43, has shifted a few pounds thanks to the Mounjaro jab and a new ultra-strict gym regime.
The father-of-three says his political views “hardened” in government.
“My experience as a minister made me feel increasingly that the country is broken”, he said.
“In particular, when I turned up at the Home Office it was a total bin fire. Everything was broken.”
Now best known for his viral social media videos calling out crime, a clip of Mr Jenrick confronting fare dodgers at a train station has been viewed 15 million times.
Jenrick on the jab
By Kate Ferguson
ROBERT Jenrick has revealed he took the fat jab to kickstart his physical glow-up.
The Tory MP, 43, has lost five stone over the past two years and transformed into a right-wing heartthrob.
He has even been named the 7th sexiest man in Britain in one poll – beating David Beckham in the rankings.
Revealing all about his new look, Mr Jenrick said taking mounjaro helped him shift some of the pounds.
But it was ditching his late night Chinese takeaway habit and becoming a gym bunny that has turned him into a rightwing pin-up.
He told The Sun’s YouTube Show, Kate’s Political Dates: “I was a bit overweight and I had been thinking about what to do for a very long time.
“And I guess it was just a moment two summers ago when I felt enough is enough I needed to change so I started to lose weight.
“I took some jabs initially – it got me started. I took up running, played tennis for my kids to go to the gym now, took up boxing, and it’s been great.
“I’ve lost four or five stone.”
He was not on the jabs for long but “it got me started, when you’re in a bit of a rut sometimes you need something to get you going”.
Mr Jenrick – a married father-of-three – said it is easy to accidentally gain weight working in Parliament.
Politicians sit late into the night and can end up ticking into a hearty roast dinner at 11pm at night.
While driving back to his constituency of Newark, in Notts, saw him regularly stop off to get a McDonald’s where his burger of choice would be a quarter pounder with cheese.
“I’m also a big Chinese takeaway and Indian fan”, Robert confessed.
“I was very bad with junk food. I’ve not completely cut that out, but I’m much better now.”
But Mr Jenrick laughed off suggestions he is a rightwing heartthrob, and says his wife and daughters thought it was “very funny” when he beat Becks in a list of sexiest Brits.
He is the latest in a string of politicians who have spoken about using fat jabs, Boris Johnson and former Tory minister Nadine Dorries.
The Tory MP said the video flew because it tapped into widespread and quiet anger.
“So many people in our country feel like mugs right now”, Mr Jenrick said.
“They are playing by the rules – whether it’s paying for their fare on the bus or paying for stuff when they go into Greggs.
“Then they see these other people flagrantly ignoring the law, nicking stuff.
“And the police are apparently doing nothing about it. We have got to change that.”
More criminals should be locked up and foreign offenders must be immediately deported to their birth country.
We shouldn’t be giving foreign aid to a country like Pakistan if they won’t take back their own citizens
Robert Jenrick
Countries who refuse should have their foreign aid and visas axed, he said.
“It is pathetic. We are pussyfooting around this issue. The government is so weak it’s pitiful.
“We shouldn’t be giving foreign aid to a country like Pakistan if they won’t take back their own citizens.”
But by choosing to tackle controversial political topics, Mr Jenrick does acknowledge he could himself become a target for hate and violence.
DEATH THREATS RECEIVED
Death threats have been sent to Robert and his family.
Masked thugs from Extinction Rebellion have turned up at his home while his daughters were home.
“On the Left there is this kind of virus, this kind of cancer, where they hate their opponents so much they want to shout them down”, he said.
His words come just weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk in the US and after Labour MP Sharon Hodgson had her office burnt down in an apparent arson attack.
But Mr Jenrick says this will not stop him taking on the controversial topics.
Kemi Badenoch will have her first Tory conference as leader in Manchester in a week’s time.
Westminster is already thick with rumours this will be her last as leader.
Robert refuses to criticise his leader or give her a deadline to turn things around.
But reflecting on the task ahead, he said: “I’m under no illusions it is going to be a long road, we have a mountain to climb.”
The Tory big beast says he doesn’t want to see foreign flags flying on the streets of Britain.[/caption]
Mr Jenrick was the first person in the hot seat for The Sun’s new YouTube show Kate’s political lunch dates with Kate Ferguson putting our political leaders under the spotlight[/caption]
