The property developer said he hoped to raise enough funds to help Reform UK win the next election as the party — which returned five MPs and ate into Tory and Labour votes in July’s election — tries to professionalise its operation. It marked another defection from the beleaguered center-right Conservatives, who currently languish in … Read more
To try and woo the members, whose “loyalty and dedication” she marveled at, the backbench Essex MP pledged to give them a “much greater voice and role” in policy making, offering a democratically elected party chairman. Internally, Patel emphasized the need for rebuttal units and professional party agents to help win seats. Having spent the … Read more
Patel spent the last two years on the backbenches after serving as home secretary when Boris Johnson was in No. 10. A prominent figure on the right, she’s dubbed a “dark horse” of the campaign who can keep the right wing on side while potentially winning over One Nation centrist MPs averse to a harder-right … Read more
Those now widely expected to put themselves forward include, on the right, former Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, the early bookies’ favorite, and former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick. Hardline former Home Secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman have both been tipped as frontrunners, although one ally of Braverman said this was now less likely. Former Security … Read more
MCC Brussels, a Hungarian government-backed think tank and part organizer of the event, said a search is now on for an alternative venue. Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels, denounced the decision by the venue to cancel the event. “What has happened in these last few days represents nothing less than a crisis for … Read more
Indeed, Anderson — elected in 2019 after defecting from Labour — may be tapping into wider Tory sentiment. An Opinium poll of Conservative Party members released Wednesday by the advocacy group Hope not Hate found that more than half (58 percent) believe Islam is a “threat to the British way of life.” A further 40 … Read more
Who’s left? With an election looming, none of the One Nation members’ preferred candidates have indicated they would stand in a future leadership contest, and there remains a lack of certainty over who will even be an MP after polling day. Constituency by constituency polling by YouGov earlier this year suggested both Mordaunt and Shapps … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — Rishi Sunak will need to watch his step this year. The U.K. prime minister faces a succession of tripwires that will make his second (and potentially last) full year in the job the toughest yet. With MPs returning to parliament Monday and … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — It was meant to be the year two quiet technocrats, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, brought calm to the fevered Westminster swamp. Unfortunately SW1 didn’t get the memo. Politics remained pretty much as wild in 2023 as it has been since David Cameron — back in action as U.K. foreign secretary … Read more
The UK Government has given Rwanda a further £100m this year as part of its deal to relocate asylum seekers there. The substantial payment was made in April of this year, the Home Office’s top civil servant said in a letter to MPs, after £140m had already been sent to the African nation. Sir Matthew … Read more
