Robert Jenrick, a Reform UK MP, denies any confusion over his party’s policy following a voting mishap that saw him support lifting the two-child benefit cap. This measure could lift around 450,000 children out of poverty. Jenrick and former Tory colleague Suella Braverman joined Labour MPs in backing the scrapping of the cap during last week’s key Commons vote.
Sky News Confrontation
Sky News presenter Sophy Ridge challenged Jenrick live on air about entering the wrong division lobby. He explained: “I went into the wrong division lobby, and what happens is that the doors close and you don’t have an opportunity to leave. I didn’t swipe my cards, there’s also a kind of technical debate about whether I voted or not, but obviously it is a mistake, I didn’t mean to do it.”
Ridge pressed: “I can see why you’re confused. Because Reform was in favour of scrapping it, and then all of a sudden they weren’t in favor of scrapping it. So, I mean, did you get confused about Reform’s policy?”
Jenrick insisted: “Reform’s policy is clear.” Ridge followed up: “Yeah, I know you know it now, but at that moment, did you not know then what Reform’s policy was?”
The former Home Office minister, seen as a potential Chancellor under Nigel Farage, confirmed he simply entered the incorrect lobby despite knowing the policy. He noted it was his first such error in 11 years as an MP, adding: “I’ve seen plenty of other people do it over the years. I remember Michael Gove doing it once when he was the Conservative Party’s chief whip and he had to hide in the toilet in order not to end up voting. It does happen to people.”
Reform UK’s Policy Stance
Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, previously supported fully scrapping the two-child benefit cap but has since shifted. He now states that, if prime minister, benefits for more than two children would apply only to British families where parents are in work.
During the vote, no record exists for Farage, while the party’s other five MPs opposed the legislation. A Reform UK spokesperson confirmed: “They made a genuine mistake walking through the wrong lobby.”
Labour’s Response
Labour minister Torsten Bell criticized the inconsistency: “Chaotic carnival of chancers. Jenrick and Braverman vote FOR the abolition of the two child limit while the other four Reform MPs vote against – and of course Farage doesn’t even bother turning up to do his job.”
