Conservative Party

The head of a Brexiteer think tank says a Vote Leave mastermind leaving Downing Street “makes post-Brexit Britain more likely to be very similar to a Britain inside the EU, and possibly worse”. Ben Harris-Quinney, chairman of the Bow Group, said that without Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings the government will see more “adherence […]

A former aide to then chancellor Sajid Javid who was escorted out of Downing Street by police officers has settled an employment tribunal claim with the Treasury, reportedly for a five-figure sum. Former Treasury special adviser Sonia Khan was fired by Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings last year. The settlement means Cummings no longer […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to get rid of the second “Kray Brother” running Downing Street in a warning about his senior aide Dominic Cummings. The prime minister has been told by senior Tories to “get a grip” after being left weakened by war in No 10 in the middle of the second Covid wave […]

This week, former prime minister Sir John Major made a piercing, patriotic speech on Brexit Britain and its place in the world, identifying the problems and suggesting solutions. The future of ‘the state we’re in’ requires plain speaking if we are to be honest with our nation. And, of course, with ourselves. The great powers […]

Geoffrey Howe – the story behind the greatest Commons speech ever made. The most memorable thing about Sir Geoffrey Howe was how unmemorable he was. Margaret Thatcher’s most decorated cabinet colleague – he was her chancellor, foreign secretary and deputy prime minister – had many qualities but charisma wasn’t one of them. Hence Denis Healey’s […]

MPs have hit out at the lack of transparency behind a process of distributing billions of taxpayers’ money to towns across England, fuelling fears of “political bias”. The cross-party Commons Public Accounts Committee said the process for selecting communities to benefit from the £3.6 billion Towns Fund was “not impartial” and risked undermining the integrity […]

A Conservative MP has been criticised for suggesting ballet and opera is enjoyed by many people in the south of England while northerners prefer football, as he warned “northern culture” is being hit by Covid-19. Former minister Jake Berry, whose previous government position included the northern powerhouse brief, compared Accrington Stanley to the Royal Ballet as he […]

A minister has hit out at the “politicisation” around questions about contracts and public funding being handed to associates of the Tory party. Alex Chalk, a justice minister, was forced to defend the government over allegations of “cronyism” from a Labour shadow minister on Politics Live. Labour’s Jo Stevens explained: “It raises another issue… the amount of […]

An adviser to Boris Johnson has called for the report into allegations of bullying by Priti Patel should be made public. Lord Evans of Weardale, the former head of MI5 and now adviser on standards in public life, said not revealing the report risks undermining voters’ trusts and would suggest the issue was “brushed over”. […]

A group of Conservative MPs have launched a group to resist calls for an extended national lockdown, in a bid to prevent Nigel Farage’s new party gaining influence. Some 32 Conservatives rebelled against the government when the Commons approved the second lockdown for England which lasts until December 2. The prime minister said he expects […]

Brexiteer Tory MPs are hatching a plan to topple Boris Johnson if he does not resign in the spring before local elections. Opponents of Johnson, including Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood and Esther McVey, have created a Whatsapp group entitled “Lockdown Loons” and are plotting against the government, the Mirror reports. At least one is […]

Under-fire vaccines tsar Kate Bingham is expected to leave her post at the end of the year after amassing a £670,000 bill over a contract for public relations support. Downing Street insisted Boris Johnson had full confidence in Bingham, a venture capitalist married to the Conservative minister Jesse Norman, and praised her work in securing […]

England footballer Marcus Rashford has hailed the power of “kindness and compassion” after reporting that Boris Johnson had U-turned over providing free meals to disadvantaged children during the Christmas holidays. The prime minister personally phoned the Manchester United star on Saturday to alert him to the decision to lay on £170 million of extra funding for […]

The latest voter intention polling by YouGov shows that Labour has jumped five points ahead of the Conservative Party. A survey by YouGov over November 4 and 5 shows Labour holding 40% of the vote compared to the Tory Party’s 35%. Latest Westminster voting intention (fieldwork 4-5 Nov) Lab – 40%Con – 35%Lib Dem – 7%Brexit […]

So what have we learnt this week in the dystopian Covid Brexit land that the UK seems to have become? That forecasts are just that and even a “reasonable worst-case scenario” might start looking optimistic. That you can only disregard the advice of experts, be they scientists or economists, for so long – the facts […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on how the UK government shows contempt of near Trumpian levels. Needless to say, the government’s fabled miscommunications team got itself into all sorts of muddles over its reaction to the Sunday Times’ revelation that the chair of the UK’s ‘vaccine task force’ briefed American venture capitalists on details of which projects the government was […]

Suella Braverman has defended Priti Patel’s attack on “activist lawyers” after reports they have faced physical and verbal attacks following criticism from the government. The attorney general was questioned by MPs about a Home Office video which accused them of epresenting migrants of trying to disrupt the asylum system. Labour’s Andy Slaughter also told the Commons: […]

A Brexiteer has been met with criticism for saying he will be voting against a second lockdown in the House of Commons. Peter Bone said that the government’s scientific and medical advisers had provided “dubious modelling”. There are lies, damned lies & then there are the likes of @PeterBoneUK, whose formal education clearly did not […]

Crispin Odey, one of the best-known UK hedge fund managers, has stepped down as chief executive of the company he founded 29 years ago. The 61-year-old – who donated to Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign – said he will now focus on managing his own funds, handing over the reins of Odey Asset Management to co-chief […]

The UK is on the verge of becoming a “broken kingdom”, a senior Tory has warned in the House of Lords. Lord Cormack said the government underestimated “at its own potential peril, just what dangers surround us” post-Brexit. He said the Westminster parliament could not behave as if it was the only legislative body in […]

Baby accessories and assorted caviar were among a dozen gifts the Cabinet Office has confiscated off Boris Johnson due to anti-corruption regulations. The government releases a list of ministerial gifts on a quarterly basis and just earlier this week dumped a trove of data on the latest presents the prime minister received during April and June this year. […]

A Tory minister has been told that appointing “people of colour to the Cabinet” does not erase the Conservative Party’s race relation issues. Justice minister Chris Philp was told his party had “housework” to do regarding race relations during a row with The New European writer Bonnie Greer on Question Time. Panellists were discussing the damning findings of an EHRC report into […]

Tim Walker on the fractured relationship between the Conservative party and the papers. In another momentous week, the story of how a group of researchers from Cambridge University had found that cold-water bathing may protect the brain from dementia slipped the minds of most of the national editors soon enough. Not, however, on the Daily […]

Protesters have targeted the offices and meeting places of 11 more Tory MPs who voted against extending free school meals over the holidays with “empty plate” demonstrations. Demonstrators laid empty plates with messages on them at the headquarters of local Tory MPs in protest against their refusal to provide free meals to pupils over the October half-term and […]

Readers have their say on the furore over the government failure to provide free school meals during the holidays. As many politicians once again demonstrate that they are out of touch with ordinary people by voting against providing free school meals in holidays, is now the time to suggest that all politicians should undertake a […]

Former chancellor George Osborne has said that Marcus Rashford has ensured it is “game over” for the Tories over free school meals, and that a U-Turn is now “inevitable”. The ex-Tory MP said that the Manchester United forward has made ministers look like a “school yard football team, all running in a panic after the […]

A minister has pleaded ignorance after being accused of leaving children going hungry during the school holidays. Environment minister George Eustice said he did not understand the line of questioning after Sky News presenter Kay Burley put to him that it sounded “ridiculous” that the government could only supply free school meals to pupils during […]

A Conservative MP has been criticised for suggesting “chaotic parents” can be to blame for sending their children to school hungry so they are unable to concentrate. John Penrose, a former minister who is married to NHS Test and Trace chief Baroness Harding, made the remark in a letter to a constituent as he defended […]

Actor and television presenter Danny Dyer has been praised for his latest criticism of the Tories over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Dyer, whose previously went viral for calling David Cameron a “tw*t over Brexit, appeared on BBC Breakfast to this time slam Boris Johnson’s government. The Eastenders star used his appearance to call for fewer Etonians […]

A Tory MP who signed a letter to Boris Johnson over Covid-19 measures in the north of England said he wants to “keep the prime minister honest” and delivering on his promises. Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness, was one of 55 Conservative MPs calling for a roadmap for Northern constituencies out of […]

A Tory MP has criticised his party for continually failing to tackle “burning injustices” and “life chances” because “something else always comes along”. Paul Manyard, the MP for Blackpool North and Cleveys, said that the backlash over free school meals should not have been a surprise and that it was no accident. Writing for Conservative […]

Television presenter and campaigner Esther Rantzen has slammed Boris Johnson’s response to the coronavirus, saying the prime minister should not be proud of his support for children in particular. Asked by Julia Hartley-Brewer about the coronavirus support, she said: “In Boris’ place I don’t think I would be proud of my record, I would be […]