Any assessment of the long-term impact of Robert Jenrick’s defection on the Conservative party must start with what you think he represents – not merely the what of his views, and his popularity with the party grassroots, but the why of them.

Is he merely a talented opportunist, a snake in the Tory Eden who was leading it astray? Or was he trying to answer the challenge of the moment, which many of his former colleagues simply preferred to ignore?

This is politics we’re talking about, so there is no doubt that personal ambition played its part in last week’s events. But the real danger to the Tory party of Jenrick’s defection is that it encourages its complacency, with the wing of the party that never liked Jenrick seeing his departure as an opportunity to retreat to its comfort zone.

Kemi Badenoch handled the defection about as well as she could have, and deserves the plaudits. Her position as leader of the party is much more secure than it was a week ago, and not just because her most obvious rival has left it.

The Tory ship is still on stormy waters, and one reef is clearly visible. MPs on the left of the party have made no bones about their hopes that this departure........

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