Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick hit the Kent by-election campaign trail today urging voters to tell the government they are “sick to death of illegal immigration”.
The party’s treasury spokesman was in Thanet ahead of a poll next month which is widely seen as the first big test of Reform’s first 10 months running Kent County Council (KCC).
(L-R) KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, candidate Marc Rattigan and Reform MP Robert Jenrick
He was in the Cliftonville division to endorse candidate Marc Rattigan, who is mounting a defence of the seat Reform won in May 2025 with 40% of the vote.
Mr Jenrick arrived in Broadstairs and posed for pictures with more than 40 supporters outside the Botany Bay Hotel.
The poll on April 9 is a must-win for Reform UK, whose previous incumbent in Cliftonville, Daniel Taylor, was sent to prison last month for coercive control towards his wife.
Alongside house building, special educational needs (SEN), the protection of open green spaces and potholed roads, Mr Jenrick said Thanet residents are at risk of living “next door” to houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) used to house asylum seekers.
He added: “We have to stop the small boats because they create a huge pressure on local services here in Kent.
Cliftonville candidate Marc Rattigan and Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick
“What the government is trying to do is shut down some of the hated asylum hotels and put them into HMOs instead.
“So people across Kent, and in Thanet in particular, are going to find themselves next door to undocumented young men who have entered the country here illegally – a flagrant abuse of the rules and people are sick to death of it.
“We have got a very strong local candidate and we have the chance here to send a message to Keir Starmer that people are fed up with illegal immigration.”
Mr Jenrick praised Mr Rattigan, who runs children’s nurseries, for running a business employing about 100 local people.
“I really wanted to come here to give my support to Marc Rattigan, who is a fantastic candidate and will be great community champion,” he said.
Mr Jenrick is the latest big-name politician to weigh in behind candidates for the Thanet division at KCC. The Green Party’s Caroline Lucas and Labour’s Dame Emily Thornberry have been among recent visitors.
Reform UK candidate Marc Rattigan
Both Mr Jenrick and Mr Rattigan are recent defectors from the Tories, the former in recent weeks. Mr Jenrick was secretary of state for local government and an immigration minister for the Tories during the party’s 14 years in government. He is now Reform’s Treasury spokesman.
He said: “Millions of people across the country have been on a journey and decided to put party loyalties to one side and do the right thing.”
Mr Rattigan defended his choice to jump ship from the Conservatives to Reform UK, and said: “My views and my values haven’t changed but unfortunately my party changed. People locally know what I stand for and hopefully they will know that I moved parties for the right reasons.
“Out on the doorstep it is really positive, really supportive. This election is like no other because everyone is saying they can win it. I am confident we can do it on the day.”
Mr Jenrick added: “They want to see real change and the only way to do that is to rally behind Nigel Farage and rally behind Reform and get a Reform government. Getting control of Kent County Council was a massive step in the right direction.”
Mr Jenrick defended KCC’s recent decision to raise the council tax by 3.99%, one per cent below the maximum allowed by the government without a referendum, saying the increase was lower than the previous Conservative administration’s for a decade.
About 40 Reform supporters turned out to greet Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick
He added: “We have always said we would be careful with your money. Reform inherited a council (KCC) with a massive amount of debt and huge problems but is beginning to put it into good shape.”
The full list of candidates for the by-election are: Joanne Bright (Labour); Lucy Gray (Ind); Charlie Leys (Conservative Party) Marc Rattigan (Reform UK); Dr Mo Shafaei (Liberal Democrats) and Rob Yates (Green Party).