Elphicke took over the seat from her former husband, Charlie, a Conservative MP who was convicted in 2020 of three counts of sexual assault and sent to prison. In an op-ed after his conviction, Natalie Elphicke wrote that he had been punished for being “charming, wealthy, charismatic and successful — attractive, and attracted to, women. … Read more
Hall was selected ahead of more high-profile Tory candidates including former London Minister Paul Scully. Scully told the BBC Saturday his party had run an “incredibly underwhelming campaign” in the capital, and accused the Conservatives of focusing too heavily on Khan as an individual. During the campaign, Hall took aim at Khan over his controversial … Read more
The Tees Valley mayor is a strong ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recorded a video endorsement. His victory back in 2017 and re-election in 2021 was seen as emblematic of the Tories’ ability to win seats in former Labour strongholds dubbed the “Red Wall.” Speaking Friday, Houchen said he was “absolutely humbled” … Read more
Johnson introduced the Elections Act in 2022 while prime minister. Under the act, voters must bring photographic ID to cast their ballots. The rules were criticized by advocacy groups and the U.K.’s Electoral Commission, the country’s official election watchdog, which said they could prevent hundreds of thousands of people from voting in a future general … Read more
Reform U.K., the right-wing populist party set up by Nigel Farage, would score 8.5 percent and win seven seats, with the Liberal Democrats getting 22 seats, according to the survey. In Wales and Scotland, the Conservatives would see a complete wipeout, winning no seats, according to the report. The analysis gives the Scottish National Party … Read more
“Today, we turn a page in the book of our nation’s history. A history we write together. Not just because I have the honour of becoming the first Black leader in any European country — but because the generational dial has jumped too,” he told party members. Born in the former British colony of Zambia, … Read more
The fall of the “red wall” to triumphant Tories became the dominant story of the 2019 election. But this time around, things are very different: most seats simply don’t exist in their previous form following a review of constituency boundaries, and Labour looks likely to make gains across the board. POLITICO looked at the most … Read more
Look back on the party’s history. The leaders who put the nation’s interests first and governed from the center did so with distinction: Disraeli, Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and, yes, Margaret Thatcher too. When they went populist, it didn’t work. Who remembers the first Tory populist Andrew Bonar Law, who went full protectionist, upending … Read more
Two of Westminster’s best-connected journalists, Sky News’s Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard, usually guide us through their predictions of how British politics will play out over the next seven days – but in this episode they attempt to predict an entire year… a year that’s set to be the planet’s biggest ever for elections. … Read more
