All posts tagged: Tory

Rupert Lowe refuses to rule out Tory defection in bombshell move | Politics | News

Rupert Lowe refuses to rule out Tory defection in bombshell move | Politics | News

Published by Sam

Rupert Lowe revealed he has not ruled out joining the Tories or a new political party. The Great Yarmouth MP lost the Reform whip amid allegations about his conduct, which he denies. Asked if he thought there was a way back or if he might switch to the Conservatives or a new party, Mr Lowe told Sky News: “This has all happened over a few days. I have been focused on debunking these false and damaging allegations. Who knows what will happen? I’m keeping my options open. I was a Tory years ago. I think the Tories have got a lot of work to do. I think there’s some extremely good Tory MPs. I get on with a lot of them.” Shadow home secretary Chris Philp left the door open to Mr Lowe joining. He told Times Radio: “He hasn’t applied but obviously we’re a broad and welcoming political party. “People have been joining the Conservatives from across the political spectrum and we always welcome new joiners.” In a statement on Friday, Reform said Mr …

Labour’s academy direction powers rehashed from Tory bill

Labour’s academy direction powers rehashed from Tory bill

Published by skeptic

Opposition has been critical of proposed power for the education secretary to direct academies to fulfil their duties Opposition has been critical of proposed power for the education secretary to direct academies to fulfil their duties More from this theme Recent articles New laws handing the secretary of state wide-ranging powers to issue academy compliance orders are a rehash of a similar policy in the Conservatives’ schools bill three years ago. The opposition has been highly critical of section 43 of the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which would give the education secretary the power to give trusts whatever “directions” she “considers appropriate”. These could be issued when a trust has “breached or is likely to breach a relevant duty, or otherwise has acted or is proposing to act unreasonably with respect to the performance of a relevant duty”, the bill states. Neil O’Brien, the shadow education minister, this week described the power as “untrammelled” and “a sort of general power to direct academies on a range of subjects”. He suggested the bill should be …

Labour Urged Not To Fall Into “Tory Trap” On Electric Vehicles

Labour Urged Not To Fall Into “Tory Trap” On Electric Vehicles

Published by Sam

There are growing concerns from stakeholders the government is watering down its ZEV mandate. (Alamy) 4 min read03 December The director of a Labour Party environment campaign has urged the Government to not fall into the “Tory trap” of “chopping and changing policy” on green energy. Paul McNamee, Director of Labour Climate and Environment Forum, encouraged ministers to “stick to your guns” amid suggestions that they could relax rules around the phasing in of electrical vehicles.  Last week Stellantis, which owns car company Vauxhall, announced it was set to close its Luton van factory next year “within the context of the UK’s ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] mandate”, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk. The firm had claimed that there was not enough consumer demand for electric vehicles. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds responded by saying he was “profoundly concerned” by how zero emissions policies were affecting businesses at a Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) dinner. Currently, car manufacturers are legally required to increase the number of ZEV vehicles to 100 per cent by 2035, the date at …

Tory MP takes hilarious swipe at Ed Miliband as Falklands makes oil discovery | Politics | News

Tory MP takes hilarious swipe at Ed Miliband as Falklands makes oil discovery | Politics | News

Published by Sam

Tory shadow defence minister Mark Francois has taken a swipe at Ed Miliband and called on Britain to “drill baby, drill” after it emerged today that oil fields surrounding the islands are larger than estimated. News today revealed that recoverable reserves of oil near the Falklands are now valued at an eye-watering £74 billion. An independent assessment of the Sea Lion field, within the North Falkland Basin and 136 miles to the north of the archipelago, has pushed up the estimated recoverable oil from 791 million barrels to 917 million barrels, equivalent to double the annual output of the entire North Sea. Rockhopper Exploration, which is the company leading the project, announced plans to extract 532 million barrels initially, reports the Telegraph, up from a previous estimate of 312 million, with most of the remainder potentially recoverable under future plans. Despite Labour’s ban on new oil and gas licences after coming to power, the Falkland Islands government has approved production in a move which illustrates the self-governing territory’s autonomy over its natural resources. Responding to …

Redundancy Payouts ‘Not Enough’ Says Ousted Tory MP

Redundancy Payouts ‘Not Enough’ Says Ousted Tory MP

Published by Sam

The Conservative former MP for Bracknell, Jame Sunderland, who lost his seat in the summer’s general election (Alamy) 6 min read24 October The money given to former MPs who lose their seats should be bigger to help them adjust to life post-Parliament, according to a Conservative defeated in July’s General Election. Current rules means individuals who lose their seats are eligible for redundancy payments equivalent to four months worth of wages, as well as loss of office payments dependent on how long MPs have served in the House of Commons. But James Sunderland, who was the Tory MP for Bracknell from 2019 to the summer, told The Rundown podcast from PoliticsHome that was “not enough”. The ex-Army colonel said: “I’m happy to say that on the record, no way. The reason why it’s not enough is because if you are unemployed, it’s very hard getting a job.  “The easiest way of getting a job is to be in a job, and we knew that. It’s off a cliff. You’ve got to pick yourself up from …

James Cleverly leads Tory pack jostling for worst job in UK politics

James Cleverly leads Tory pack jostling for worst job in UK politics

Published by Sam

LONDON — And then there were three. Fresh from a thumping election defeat, Britain’s diminished band of Conservative MPs on Tuesday whittled down the list of people hoping to take them back to power to a final trio: James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, and Kemi Badenoch. Shadow Security Minister Tom Tugendhat bit the dust after winning the backing of just 20 of the 121 Tory MPs still standing in parliament. But the biggest shock of the day was the surge in momentum behind Cleverly, the former home secretary and foreign secretary once seen as a real outsider in the race who has been buoyed by a strong performance at the Conservative party conference. He won the backing of 39 MPs Tuesday. That’s up 18 on the previous round of voting, and represents a real rally in support among parliamentary colleagues, who decide the final list of two which rank-and-file members then get to vote on. It looks like a proper fight is on for the second slot on the membership ballot: Ex-Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick ranked …

Senior London Tory Refuses To Vote For Any Leadership Candidate

Senior London Tory Refuses To Vote For Any Leadership Candidate

Published by Sam

Andrew Boff was first elected as Chair of the London Assembly last year (Alamy) 5 min read01 October Andrew Boff, Chair of the London Assembly, has said he will not vote for any of the Conservative leadership candidates as he is “appalled” by their approaches to migration and human rights. Boff has been active in the Conservative Party for more than 50 years, a member of the London Assembly since 2008, and unsuccessfully sought to become the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London six times – including this year. He has been an outspoken critic of some of the most senior Conservative politicians in recent years, and was kicked out of last year’s Tory conference after heckling then-home secretary Suella Braverman during her speech. Boff, who is openly gay, spoke out during the speech, calling it “trash” and a “homophobic rant”. One year later, with the Tories now out of government, Boff remains very critical of the ideological direction of the party and voiced doubts over whether it can return to power at the next election. As …

What Tory leadership candidates should learn from the mistakes of Boris Johnson – and Silvio Berlusconi

What Tory leadership candidates should learn from the mistakes of Boris Johnson – and Silvio Berlusconi

Published by Sam

The Conservative party is choosing a new leader, with four candidates still in the running: Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat. Each is pitching to a party in dire need of a new direction and the path ahead is far from clear. Our recent research suggests the candidates could learn a lot from two phenomenally successful party leaders of the recent past in the weeks ahead – but probably more in terms of what not to do. We’ve looked at Silvio Berlusconi, who was prime minister of Italy three times between 1994 and 2011, and Boris Johnson, more briefly prime minister of the UK from 2019 to 2022. Both were unusual politicians, media-driven leaders who dominated with a combination of three “Ps”:-personalisation, performance and populism. As political celebrities they used, and manipulated, the media to create unending controversy (much easier for Berlusconi as he owned such a large part of it). It appeared that their approach paid off at the ballot box. Berlusconi won three elections and reshaped Italian politics, while Johnson …

“Duracell Bunny” Tom Tugendhat Strives To Show He’s More Than Just The “Posh” One Nation Tory

“Duracell Bunny” Tom Tugendhat Strives To Show He’s More Than Just The “Posh” One Nation Tory

Published by Sam

9 min read29 September A British-French dual national, a Roman Catholic with Jewish ancestry who studied Islamic theology at university, Tom Tugendhat is many things to all people. The former security minister is firmly marked as a One Nation candidate, but has been branching out to find support, even if most is outside of Parliament. The biography Tom Tugendhat, 51, was born to French mother Blandine de Loisne and British father Sir Michael, an eminent High Court judge now retired. His uncle Christopher was a former Conservative MP and European commissioner, now sitting in the Lords. Tugendhat, it’s safe to say, is from classic Tory stock. His paternal grandfather came to the UK from Vienna to study, converting from Judaism to Catholicism when he married. It wasn’t until Tugendhat entered Parliament, after experiencing questioning of his surname, that he really considered himself Jewish. Growing up in London and Sellindge in Kent, he attended top private school St Paul’s in the capital, and went on to study theology at Bristol University, followed …

Tory leadership contenders would be wise to become the ‘heir to Keir’

Tory leadership contenders would be wise to become the ‘heir to Keir’

Published by Sam

The Conservative leadership contest is something of a sideshow to the meaningful politics of government. Whoever wins will inherit a depleted party reeling from arguably its worst ever election defeat. It comprises only 121 MPs, many now in marginal seats (77 are defending majorities where just a 5% swing would see them out). But worse than that, it is a party that no longer seems to know why it exists. Are any of the contenders capable of leading the Conservatives back into relevance? Well, six have thrown their hats into the ring: early frontrunner Kemi Badenoch; James Cleverly, who has topped some opinion polls; Tom Tugendhat; Robert Jenrick, who seems to have built some momentum; Mel Stride; and Priti Patel. Following a series of votes in the parliamentary party, the top four will be presented at September’s party conference. A further two ballots will then produce the two finalists, who will go head-to-head in an online vote with party members. So MPs will inevitably deny many members the opportunity to vote for their favourite candidate. …