A Politics of Personality Erupts in British Conservatism

The latest salvo in the Conservative Party’s leadership contest is not about policy, but about character. Robert Jenrick, a former housing minister turned Reform UK MP, has launched a blistering attack on Kemi Badenoch, his former boss and a rival for the party leadership. The personal nature of this assault raises questions about the politics of personality that seem to be consuming British conservatism.

The catalyst for this latest round of verbal sparring was a meeting between Badenoch and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. According to reports, Meloni allegedly told Badenoch to “be her own woman” and resist doing a deal with the Conservative Party. Jenrick has dismissed these claims as fabrications, accusing Badenoch of making up a “pack of lies.” This is not the first time he has done so; his comments imply that Badenoch’s entire narrative – including her claim to have received an offer from Stanford University at 16 – is built on falsehoods.

Recent revelations about the Conservative leadership contest suggest that this development is not surprising. A new book by Anthony Seldon alleges that Badenoch and other cabinet ministers plotted to remove Rishi Sunak as prime minister months before the general election. Jenrick, who resigned as immigration minister over a dispute with Sunak’s Rwanda deportation plan, is not implicated in these claims.

This situation highlights the Conservative Party’s obsession with personal politics. Rather than engaging on policy issues or debating the merits of their respective visions for Britain, the party’s leaders are more concerned with each other’s characters and credibility. This trend has been a hallmark of the party’s behavior in recent years.

The Reform UK’s plans to replace GDPR with a “light-touch” privacy law modelled on New Zealand’s have raised concerns about data safeguards. However, Jenrick’s comments on Badenoch’s meeting with Meloni are less about policy and more about character assassination. This approach has serious implications for British politics, as it erodes trust in institutions and leaders.

The Labour Party has criticized Reform UK’s plans, pointing out that the party cannot say which data safeguards would be scrapped or whether they would put people’s personal details at risk. This criticism is not only about policy; it also speaks to the accountability and transparency essential in a functioning democracy.

In this climate of personal politics, it is difficult to discern what the real issues are. Are we debating the merits of Badenoch’s meeting with Meloni or Jenrick’s claims about her character? Is this about policy or personality? The answer lies somewhere in between. What is clear is that British conservatism is consumed by a politics of personality, where leaders are more concerned with each other’s characters than with addressing the pressing issues facing the country.

As the party leadership contest continues to unfold, it will be interesting to see which narrative prevails: the one about policy or the one about character. The consequences for British politics and democracy will depend on which path is chosen.