Jenrick Blames PM for Defeat

Robert Jenrick really went off on Rishi Sunak’s “disastrous” leadership. The former immigration minister didn’t hold back in his scathing post-election rant. He squarely blamed Sunak’s weak leadership for the Tories’ epic defeat.

Jenrick tore into Sunak for his failures on immigration and securing Britain’s borders. He didn’t mince words about how out of touch the Tories are for not understanding why voters dumped them so hard.

There’s some serious heat as Jenrick lays into Sunak over the Conservatives’ embarrassing beatdown. He warned that there’s still way too much wishful thinking from the few ministers left standing amid the wreckage.

Instead of facing up to their awful track record, Jenrick ripped into the Tories still making excuses and spinning the truth. They just won’t admit that voters handed them their heads over their immigration mess and other failures.

Jenrick’s brutal truth bombs after the election are just the beginning. The Tory infighting has kicked off in full swing. Jenrick’s takedown of Sunak signals open season for Tory sharks to tear each other apart.

Jenrick Rips Sunak Leadership

The Conservative Party has dealt a devastating blow, and Rishi Sunak must bear the brunt of the blame. His leadership fell short, and it led to a huge defeat in the election, with the Tories ending up with their fewest seats ever.

As former immigration minister Robert Jenrick bluntly put it, the Conservatives didn’t deliver on their promises during their 14 years in power. And now they’re facing the consequences.

He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme the failure to cut migration was “at the heart” of the election result but he also blamed high taxes and “broken” public services.

Jenrick nailed it when he pointed out the Tories’ total flop on immigration and border security, despite all their talk. In seat after seat, they lost by margins smaller than the votes that went to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which pushed hard on cutting immigration.

Their inability to get a grip on immigration was a major reason for their downfall. But some in the party still don’t get it. As Jenrick warned, there’s still a shocking level of overconfidence among colleagues who barely survived the election storm.

Rather than facing facts, too many Tories are comforting themselves with delusions and excuses. They refuse to acknowledge the profound sense of betrayal felt by millions who lent the party their votes to finally fix Britain’s immigration crisis once and for all.

Under successive Conservative governments, promises on immigration rang hollow time and time again. David Cameron and Theresa May boldly pledged to slash net migration to the tens of thousands. Boris Johnson insisted numbers would come down. Rishi Sunak vowed to stop the small boats traversing the Channel illegally.

The British people heard these iron-clad guarantees and believed real change was coming. Little did they know the Conservatives had no intention of honoring their word.

Despite all their big talk about cutting migration, the Tories have completely flopped. Net migration hit a whopping 685,000 in 2023—more than two and a half times what it was in 2010 and double what they promised back in 2015 when they had their big majority. They’ve had every tool at their disposal, but they couldn’t get a grip on the situation.

Even Sunak’s much-hyped Rwanda scheme, which he staked a chunk of his faltering credibility on, has proven farcical. Just a couple illegal immigrants were deported before the policy was scrapped by keir starmer. The small boats keep coming, as the British coastline remains a porous sieve. 

Sunak’s “stop the boats” pledge now stands as an embarrassing monument to unfulfilled promises. His tough talk on reducing immigration lies in tatters, exposed as so much hot air. Voters who put their trust in such hollow words will not be fooled again.

While in office, the Conservatives also did nothing meaningful to reform the asylum system being abused by tens of thousands. The backlog of applications soared to over 175,000 under their negligence, leaving the British people footing the bill to house endless applicants in hotels.

At the same time, the Tories threw open the floodgates to more immigration than ever before during their 14-year rule. They prioritized pleasing big corporations over citizens, leading to a massive influx of workers.

This surge strained housing, hospitals, schools, transportation, and essential services. It also rapidly altered local cultures and community bonds in towns across the country.

As millions of frustrated Brits begged for relief from the constant stream of immigrants, the Conservatives responded with empty promises and inaction. They kept catering to corporate demands for cheap foreign labor while ignoring growing public discontent.

For those facing shrinking wages and living standards, and witnessing their neighborhoods change beyond recognition, this cold shoulder from the Tories sparked deep resentment. Their unspoken policy of mass immigration felt like a stab in the back from an elite that just didn’t get it.

No wonder Robert Jenrick pointed out that the Tories getting crushed was mainly due to their immigration flop. When a party messes up a big promise like that, they lose people’s trust, plain and simple.

Tories in Denial Over Defeat

Jenrick rightly called out the arrogance of colleagues claiming policies were not truly to blame. The British people are not fools – they deserted the Tories precisely because of their abysmal record in office. All the PR gimmicks and spin could not obscure that reality.

Yet the delusional sentiments expressed by the likes of Victoria Atkins highlight how deep the state of denial still runs within the defeated Conservative Party. 

Her laughable insistence that Britain remains an “instinctively Conservative” country betrays an astonishing failure to confront the new reality.

Voters have just given the Tories the boot in a huge way, basically saying they don’t speak for Britain. Atkins is totally brushing off the clear message Brits sent with their votes.

Likewise, her assertion that the Conservatives merely need to “show” the public they are listening is beyond insulting. The British people are not idiots – they can recognize concrete action rather than more empty gestures.

After more than a decade of frustration over issues like immigration and the NHS with no real solutions, trust in the Tories is pretty much shot. They had their chance to listen and blew it big time.

Atkins even advises her colleagues not to talk about leadership, as if avoiding the topic will make their massive rejection disappear. It’s wishful thinking at its finest—pretending everything’s fine when the reality is staring them in the face.

However, no amount of delusion can erase the damning verdict of the British people. The Conservatives had their chance and blew it. After 14 years of betrayal that abandoned voters on immigration, NHS and so much more, the people had seen enough broken promises and empty words. 

Rishi Sunak was the poster child for the Tories’ slick but shallow politics. His “stop the boats” promise sank faster than a sinking ship, and his Rwanda plan? Total fantasy. All style, no substance.

Sunak’s time in the hot seat highlighted everything that’s gone wrong with the Conservatives: empty slogans, zero follow-through. Voters want action, not just flashy marketing.

Under his watch, we’ve seen tax hikes, soaring prices, borders in chaos, and public services falling apart. No wonder Jenrick said the Tories deserved the beating they got at the polls.

After years of treating citizens like dirt over immigration, the Tories are now out in the cold. Excuses won’t save them—only a total shift in attitude that puts British people first again.

This massive defeat is a chance for the Tories to start fresh in opposition. Jenrick’s right—they need to grab this opportunity with humility and honesty, not their usual arrogance.

The British have spoken loud and clear on Rishi Sunak’s disaster of a leadership and his party’s empty promises. If the Tories don’t make real changes, power will stay out of reach. They’ve got to own up to their failures to have any hope of redemption.