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Tag: Tory

  • Sunak under pressure from Tory splits and spats

    Sunak under pressure from Tory splits and spats

    I know Christmas is coming soon, and you probably don’t want to think about politics right now. You might have to.

    The ruling party has to. The Downing Street operation is in big trouble.

    And even though it may have sounded a little crazy when we discussed it last week, it’s not unreasonable to think that the Conservatives are in such a bad situation that some of them are considering if they need a new leader.

    Take a moment to think – most people don’t think it’s a good idea to randomly choose the sixth prime minister since the EU referendum by rolling a dice. But now, more people are starting to believe it for some very good reasons.

    Rishi Sunak is really stressed. He has to go to the Covid investigation on Monday, and on Tuesday there is a vote on a plan he supported that didn’t work out well.

    Issue one: The Conservative party can’t decide on how to fulfill the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘stop the boats’.

    That saying is now commonly used in politics, but Rishi Sunak’s catchphrase has become a burden for his administration.

    The plan was to stop people from coming to the UK by telling them they would be sent to Africa instead. The problem had some problems at first, but now Parliament has approved it.

    However, it faced real-life and legal problems. Over the past few days, some people in Mr. Sunak’s own party have been against his new plans to make his long-time wish happen.

    He didn’t go as far as some of his MPs wanted to make sure planes can fly without legal problems, but his new laws are still more than some of his colleagues are happy with.

    Similar to Theresa May’s Brexit deals, it doesn’t make everyone on the right of his party happy, and it makes people on the more moderate side feel uncomfortable.

    The outcome He’s stuck in the awkward middle of an issue that he decided to adopt as his own.

    This weekend, all types of MPs in his party are thinking about whether to support the plan or not. Be careful about the headlines saying there will be a disaster, because many less important members of parliament are likely to let the proposals pass in the first debate, but then try to change them, break them apart, or even get rid of them after Christmas.

    Issue number two: it’s not only the people you can predict who are upset. The prime minister’s friend and the minister in charge of handling the problem have left. Robert Jenrick will be in the studio with us on Sunday. He says the plan won’t work and he has big doubts about the government’s approach to managing migration from abroad.

    Issue three: Number 10 has to deal with a mix of different groups who all have their own beliefs and ideas, causing tension.

    It’s hard to make everyone happy and it’s unlikely that they will all agree with Number 10. One member of parliament making fun of the different groups describes them like this: “The ‘One Nation’ would be the smart kids in school. ” The person who always does everything right. The European Research Group (ERG) are like old-fashioned, traditional people, while the New Conservatives are like unruly kids in parks. The Truss lots are very scary.

    Putting aside the playful jokes, how can a leader make sure that everyone follows the rules, even on topics that aren’t controversial. It’s important to remember that political parties are made up of different groups working together. It’s silly to think that they always agree and get along perfectly. One former minister in the Tory party said in 2023 that there is no unity among the members of parliament – they don’t like each other and don’t get along.

    Issue four: The Conservative Party is not happy and in disarray, and now they are dealing with a new opponent.

    The Tories were always arguing when Theresa May was in charge and also when Boris Johnson took over. The seats across from them were filled with unhappy groups that supported Jeremy Corbyn.

    The work situation has changed, and the Conservative party is aware of it.

    I heard some secret recordings of Greg Hands, who used to be a Conservative leader, talking to student activists in Oxford at the end of October.

    He said that people who vote are not happy with all the problems in the government at Number 10. “We have upset them, especially because last year we had three different prime ministers. ”

    He said that even though people may not be super excited about Keir Starmer, they don’t see Labour as a threat to their votes anymore.

    In the recordings, he says that many Conservatives who like liberal ideas were scared to vote for anyone other than the Conservatives because they didn’t want Corbyn to become prime minister.

    When he talks about keeping voters, he says that Starmer is not like Corbyn because he doesn’t scare people. Our challenge now is to keep those voters on our side. Mr Hands said that there are Conservative voters who still might come back to the party.

    In reply to that recording, he says: “Like I said in Oxford, Sir Keir Starmer hasn’t won over the British people – and the Conservative Party can still be victorious in the next general election. ”

    Similar to Neil Kinnock in the 1980s, Sir Keir Starmer is not as left-wing as the person before him, but still too left-wing for the British people. When people pay attention to him, they will see that he is not a good fit. He changes his opinion on all the important topics just to make his audience happy, like the monarchy, the EU, tuition fees, and taxes.

    Rishi Sunak’s friends might say that the prime minister made things peaceful after a period of disorder.

    However, considering what has happened recently, it’s obvious that was not strong enough to win. And maybe he’s starting to undo all the progress he made with his many resets. The splits now feel very painful.

    Perhaps, that’s because some Conservative Members of Parliament have been behind in the polls for a long time. They might prefer to prioritize their own beliefs over the party’s success.

    Maybe it’s because Rishi Sunak hasn’t been able to convince them that working together is important.

    Perhaps it’s because the party has been in power for a very long time and has constantly changed itself that it is not certain about its purpose anymore.

    It could be a combination of all of those things, and maybe even more.

    Actually, Rishi Sunak is still in charge of a party that has a lot more members in the House of Commons than any other party. The next election is not for another year. People who vote are unstable these days, and the public feelings can change very quickly.

    The prime minister’s special skill of ending the chaos from Truss and Johnson’s time has been greatly damaged. Breaking up and fighting are happening again. The people don’t like it when political parties are split.

    Currently, this is one of the few things that Conservative MPs can agree on politically.

  • UK: No police action over Shaun Bailey Tory event during Covid lockdown

    Scotland Yard is not prosecuting former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey or anyone else who attended a gathering at Conservative Party headquarters during a Covid lockdown.

    While London was under restrictions in December 2020, Mr Bailey and Tory aides were seen posing for a photo, raising glasses beside buffet food.

    Indoor socialising was prohibited.

    However, the Met stated that there was “insufficient evidence to disprove the version of events provided by attendees.”

    Fresh questions about the event at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster were raised after it was reported that former prime minister Boris Johnson had put Mr Bailey forward for a peerage in his resignation honours list.

    After the Daily Mirror published a picture of the gathering in December 2021, the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation.

    Mr Bailey, a former candidate to be London’s mayor, apologised “unreservedly” for the event organised by his campaign team and said it was a “serious error of judgment”.

    Then-Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, who is now business secretary, said “that scene is absolutely unacceptable”.

    Before the photo was published, the Times had reported that a “raucous” party took place in the basement while Covid restrictions were in place.

    The Met concluded the “photo by itself is not sufficient evidence on which to assess that an offence had been committed”.

    Officers issued attendees with questionnaires to decide whether breaches of the rules were committed and fines should be issued.

    “The investigation reviewed all the material thoroughly and after careful consideration, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to disprove the version of events provided by attendees to a standard that would meet the threshold required,” the Met said.

    “As a result, a decision was made that no further action should be taken.”

    Mr Bailey, who remains a London Assembly Member, resigned as chairman of the governing body’s Police and Crime Committee after the picture emerged.

    Scotland Yard issued a total of 126 fines over rule breaches in Whitehall and Downing Street while Mr Johnson was prime minister, in a scandal that helped end his tenure in No 10.

    Mr Johnson and his then-chancellor Rishi Sunak paid fixed-penalty notices over a gathering held for Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday

  • UK ‘spending more of its aid budget at home than abroad’ in developing countries

    A large proportion of the pot – some £3bn – is being spent on housing refugees, mainly from Ukraine, according to the Centre for Global Development (CGD).

    The UK is now spending more of its aid budget at home than in poorer countries, development experts have said.

    That is because a large proportion of the pot – some £3bn – is being spent on housing refugees, mainly from Ukraine, according to the Centre for Global Development (CGD).

    The UK aid budget is around £11bn, with some £4bn going to multilateral institutions including the World Bank.

    Of the remaining £7bn, which is administered by the UK directly, more than half will be spent domestically this year, including some £3bn on housing refugees, according to CGD’s analysis.

    While the UK is allowed to count refugee-hosting costs as official development assistance (ODA) under internationally agreed rules, it is one of only a few countries – and the only one in the G7 – to fund all the costs of Ukrainian refugees from its existing aid budget, the Washington and London-based think tank said.

    Rishi Sunak was criticised for cutting the budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of national income during his time as chancellor, for setting a precedent for letting the Home Office and other departments use the pot, and for stretching the rules on what can be counted as aid.

    Ranil Dissanayake, the policy fellow at CGD, said: “The development budget – the pot of money we put aside to help the world’s poorest people – is being squeezed from every angle.

    “Not only was it slashed by almost a third, Rishi Sunak then set a precedent as chancellor for letting other departments claim whatever they could back from this pot.

    “Saying we spend 0.5% of our national income on aid is becoming meaningless, when such a huge proportion of this pot is being spent domestically, rather than on helping people facing enormous hardship across the world.”

    Key Tory rebel appointed to Foreign Office

    One of the key Tory MPs who rebelled against Mr Sunak’s aid budget cuts last year, Andrew Mitchell, has now been appointed by the prime minister as development minister in the Foreign Office.

    The appointment was seen as significant as Mr Mitchell, a former international development secretary, could increase pressure on Mr Sunak to honour his pledge to return to 0.7% international aid spending by 2024-25.

    However, the prime minister is considering freezing the budget for an extra two years – saving £4bn a year – as he eyes ways to plug a multi-billion pound fiscal black hole, the Telegraph reported.

    A spokesperson at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Across government, there are significant pressures on the 0.5% ODA budget due to the costs of accepting refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine as well as wider migration challenges. Obviously how many refugees arrive in any particular period is not certain, so there is not fixed cost.

    “We remain one of the largest global aid donors, spending more than £11 billion in aid in 2021, and UK aid has recently gone towards those in need in the Horn of Africa and Pakistan.”

    Source: Skynews.com

     

     

  • Conor Burns, a minister for the Tories, was fired with “immediate effect” following a severe misconduct allegation

    Conor Burns has been fired as trade minister and had the whip suspended after an allegation of serious misconduct.

    Liz Truss has sacked trade minister Conor Burns from her government “with immediate effect” following an allegation of serious misconduct.

    The Tory MP for Bournemouth West has also had the whip suspended while the complaint is investigated.

    A No 10 spokesman said: “Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the prime minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect.

    “The prime minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour – as the public rightly expects.”

    A whips office spokesman said: “We have suspended the whip pending an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour earlier this week.

    “We take all such allegations extremely seriously. The prime minister has been clear that the highest standards in public life must be upheld.”

    He has been an MP since 2010 and held a number of ministerial positions under Boris Johnson, to whom he was fiercely loyal.

    It comes after the annual Conservative Party conference took place in Birmingham from last Sunday to Wednesday.

    Mr Burns, 50, has said he will cooperate fully with the probe and “looks forward to clearing his name”, according to The Sun.

    He has been an MP since 2010 and held a number of ministerial positions under Boris Johnson, to whom he was fiercely loyal.

    Earlier this year, he infamously claimed the former PM was “ambushed with cake” in defence of claims of a lockdown party in Downing Street.

    The allegations against him are the latest to rock the Conservative Party following a string of scandals.

    In July, former deputy chief whip Chris Pincherresigned from his post after he was accused of groping two men in a private members’ club – with the fallout ultimately leading to Boris Johnson’s downfall.

    And in May, former Tory MP Neil Parish resigned after confessing to watching pornography in the House of Commons “in a moment of madness”.

    Just short of two weeks later, an unnamed Conservative MP was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault offences spanning seven years.

    Government minister Victoria Prentis said the allegations were “obviously concerning”, but she had been assured the matter was being taken “very seriously”.

    “I think all I can say is that the Prime Minister has taken decisive action, and we’ll make sure that this is properly investigated,” she told Times Radio.

    “In terms of politics as a whole it’s always worrying because we all expect and hope to maintain the highest standards in public life.”

     

  • David Davis: Thatcher would never have tried to cut benefits amid cost of living crisis

    Margaret Thatcher would never have tried to cut benefits amid the cost of living crisis, Conservative former minister David Davis has said.

    Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme today, he said while the Tory leader modelled herself on Ms Thatcher, she should “actually model herself really on Thatcher”.

    “Thatcher was strategically terribly bold, but actually tactically incredibly careful. And (Liz Truss) should do the same,” he said.

    “All this stuff about, let’s say one of the controversies, cutting benefits. Well, that’s not a real option. Margaret Thatcher would never have tried that, and under these circumstances with the winter coming up that we have.”

    Asked what he would say to those in his party who want to change leader, Mr Davis said: “Well, firstly, you haven’t got time for that.

    “It takes a year, more than a year, to replace a leader in the Tory Party. Sometimes it takes two or three years.”

    Addressing Ms Truss’s start as prime minister, he added: “It would be a very, very unwise person who tried to make a judgment over two years on what’s happened in four weeks.”

  • Former minister Heather Wheeler says Tory MPs need to ‘calm down a bit’

    Heather Wheeler, Conservative MP for South Derbyshire and a former junior minister, was asked about the mood among Tory MPs.

    She told Sky News: “Well, it’s interesting.

    “I must be on different WhatsApp groups to everybody else because I haven’t had a single Tory tell me that things are all doom and gloom.

    “I think I remember after the fiscal statement, was it five newspapers that said this is the best statement the Conservative government has ever made?”

    She added: “And I know a week’s a long time in politics, but should we just calm down a bit?

    “Should we just see the growth plan? Should we just make sure this is going to happen and get behind the leader, who was undeniably elected in the summer?”

    Regarding polls, she said: “What is the real poll? The real polls are elections, and what happened on Thursday? Two massive wins for the Conservatives up in Jake Berry’s constituency (Rossendale and Darwen).

    “So people actually voted Conservative with all this noise going on, and that’s what I hold onto.

    “The important thing here is we’ve got a growth plan. It’s going to take time.

    “We’re going to have more meat on the bones on the 23rd of November.”

  • Tory conference: A number of unexpected things have already occured

    Liz Truss and her ministers arrived as anticipated in a combative, flinty tone, ready to stick with their mini-maxi budget.

    In her no-surrender speech on the 45p top tax rate, the prime minister paid homage to Thatcher by blaming international forces for domestic interest rate increases that are driving up mortgage and business costs for millions of people.

    Conservative party chairman Jake Berry went further, suggesting markets can overreact.

    The only contrition so far has been an acknowledgment that the communications around the growth plan weren’t up to scratch.

    So far so expected.

    But a number of unexpected things have already happened today.

    First is the public scale of the opposition the PM is already experiencing.

    Michael Gove, the talismanic Tory love-hate figure, crowned himself the leader of the internal opposition on TV this morning, suggesting he’d vote against the 45p top rate when it comes to parliament, probably in March.

    Mel Stride, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, wants to bring forward the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.

    Others are planning to speak publicly.

    Secondly is the huge disquiet from dozens of Tories not in Birmingham who are contemplating how to stop – in their view – Ms Truss wrecking the reputation for financial probity of the Conservative Party.

    One Tory MP even suggested they would contemplate voting to force a general election soon, arguing it could be in the national interest, even if that meant expulsion from the party and being ostracised by everyone who they have worked with in the last decade.

    Thirdly, confusingly, Liz Truss has knocked down her relationship with her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

    She appeared to blame him for the 45p tax row, saying it was his decision, as she admitted it wasn’t put to the cabinet.

    This prompted even Truss loyalist Nadine Dorries to raise an eyebrow, saying “there is a balance, and throwing your chancellor under a bus on the first day of the conference really isn’t it. Fingers crossed things to improve and settle down from now.”

    Last week, Sky News outlined how Ms Truss needed convincing by Mr Kwarteng to acknowledge the Bank of England’s concerns.

    This creates a toxic impression the two are not getting along. This isn’t a straightforward start to Ms Truss’s first conference.

  • Tax cuts pledge: Liz Truss acknowledges disruption

    After the mini-budget, Prime Minister Liz Truss acknowledged there had been “disruption” in the UK economy.

    She declared in a letter to The Sun that she had “acted forcefully” and would maintain a “iron grip” on the country’s finances.

    The government unveiled £45bn of tax cuts funded by borrowing last week – but did not accompany it with the usual economic assessment of the plans.

    That worried investors causing the pound to slump and forcing the Bank of England to step in to reassure markets.

    Ms Truss has resisted calls to reverse the cuts or to bring forward the publication of the independent fiscal watchdog’s economic forecasts and analysis of her tax plans.

    The prime minister said she was “committed” to publishing the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast on 23 November, the same day the chancellor is due to set out further economic plans, after she met the OBR on Friday.

    But some Conservative MPs want to see this sooner to reassure the financial markets after turbulent trading.

    The Treasury argues it should wait until additional changes are announced.

    Ms Truss wrote in the Sun: “I am going to do things differently. It involves difficult decisions and does involve a disruption in the short term.”

    She reiterated her commitment to “get the economy growing”, with plans to stimulate growth expected to include measures in eight areas – business regulation, agriculture, housing and planning, immigration, mobile and broadband, financial services, childcare, and energy.

    And she insisted she would maintain an “iron grip on the national finances”.

    Her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, writing in the Telegraph newspaper, insisted that November’s statement would include a “credible plan” to get the public finances back on track, with a “commitment to spending discipline”.

    “The British taxpayer expects their government to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, and we will deliver on that expectation,” Mr Kwarteng said.

    But senior minister Simon Clarke told the Times newspaper the government needed to explain more about how it would control spending, as well as boost economic growth.

    “We have acquired spending habits that outstrip our ability to pay for it. That needs to change,” he said.

    He suggested the government was looking to make significant cuts and “trim the fat” when it comes to public spending.

    “I think it is important that we look at a state which is extremely large, and look at how we can make sure that it is in full alignment with a lower tax economy.”

    Ms Truss confirmed on Thursday that she was looking for cuts across the government as a way to pay for the mini-budget measures.

    Waveney MP Peter Aldous said the timing of last Friday’s plan had been “hopelessly wrong”, and the rest of the details should be brought forward to October.

    Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey argued that the government, by waiting until 23 November, was allowing the UK economy to “fly blind” for two months.

    “Families and businesses can’t afford to wait any longer for this government to fix their botched, unfair budget,” he said.

    OBR members in Downing Street
    IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Leading members of the Office of Budget Responsibility arriving at 10 Downing Street for a rare meeting with the prime minister

    What is the Office for Budget Responsibility?

    The Office for Budget Responsibility is the independent watchdog for the government’s finances.

    It usually produces economic forecasts twice a year, to accompany each autumn budget and spring statement.

    It scrutinises government plans, to increase taxes or borrowing for example, and predicts what the likely impact on the overall economy will be.

    These forecasts are so important because a strong one gives investors confidence to put money into the UK economy – whereas a weak one is likely to have the opposite effect.

    The government can request forecasts from the OBR at any time to get independent advice on big moves.

    But it did not take the OBR up on its offer ahead of last week’s mini-budget. This is thought to have undermined confidence in the markets.

    This led to the pound dropping to its lowest rate against the dollar in 37 years on Monday, before returning to its previous level.

    The government’s tax-cutting plan faced criticism from the International Monetary Fund, and the pound dropped to a 37-year low of $1.03 on Monday.

    On Friday, the sterling rose to $1.12 – close to the level the currency was at before the mini-budget was announced.

    Despite that, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut the outlook for its AA credit rating for British government debt from “stable” to “negative” on Friday, because of the prospect of higher borrowing needed to fund the pledges.

    In recent days, the Conservatives have posted some of their worst opinion poll ratings in more than 20 years.

    A poll published on Thursday by Survation put the party on 28%, more than 21 points behind Labour, while a separate survey by YouGov put the Tories on 21%, 33 points adrift.

    Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said ministers should “get back to Parliament, revoke the changes, and start again to try and rebuild confidence”.

    And Conservative MP Martin Vickers urged the prime minister not to scrap the 45p tax rate and the bankers’ bonus cap, describing the move as “a political own goal”.

    However, another Tory backbencher, Andrea Leadsom, said the mini-budget was “unashamedly pro-growth”, and that the markets were “wrong to be jittery” about the changes.