Robert Jenrick was once a Conservative Party minister so blandly(平淡无奇地) on-message(传达官方口径的) that he was cruelly nicknamed “Robert Generic”. Yet he defected(叛逃，投奔) to the populist-right Reform UK in January after turning into a strident(尖锐的，刺耳的) critic of immigration and enthusiastic participant in Britain’s culture wars(文化战争), hitting out at(猛烈抨击) human-rights laws and the pro-Palestinian movement.
罗伯特·詹里克曾是保守党大臣，因循守旧、毫无个性，被无情地起了个绰号“罗伯特·通用”。然而，在成为移民问题的尖锐批评者和英国文化战争的积极参与者之后，他于今年1月叛逃至民粹主义右翼的英国改革党，抨击人权法律和亲巴勒斯坦运动。
His shift looks like a symbol of how the right has hardened(强硬化的) since Brexit (which he opposed). Former Tory colleagues charge him with(指控他) pure opportunism(机会主义): Mr Jenrick left his old party after being beaten to the leadership by Kemi Badenoch, and was swiftly(迅速地) appointed Reform’s treasury spokesman. He is spoken of as(被认为是) a possible successor to the party’s leader, Nigel Farage.
他的转变似乎是英国脱欧（他曾反对）以来右翼立场强化的象征。前保守党同僚指责他纯粹是机会主义：詹里克在党魁竞选中败给凯米·巴德诺克后离开了老党，并迅速被任命为改革党的财政发言人。他被视为该党领袖奈杰尔·法拉奇的潜在继任者。
In Mr Jenrick’s telling(按照詹里克的说法) it is the Tories who have changed, not he. He points out that, in office, they raised government spending and taxes, failed to deregulate(放松管制) and let net migration hit record highs(创历史新高). He sees his role as helping Reform evolve(演变，进化) from a party of protest—its fiscal plans at the last general election were wildly unrealistic—into an outfit(组织，团体) ready for power.
在詹里克看来，改变的是保守党，而不是他。他指出，保守党在执政期间提高了政府支出和税收，未能放松管制，并让净移民人数创下历史新高。他认为自己的角色是帮助改革党从一个抗议型政党（其在上次大选中的财政计划极不现实）转变为一个准备掌权的组织。