UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch has sparked backlash after joking 50,000 civil servants were so bad at their jobs they should be jailed, claiming they undermine ministers and leak official secrets.Speaking on the fringes of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Ms Badenoch drew laughter from the audience as she said five to 10 per cent of government department staff should be in prison.In a stinging attack on the workforce, she described some as “very, very bad”.With more than 500,000 people employed full time in the civil service as of March 2024, five to 10 per cent would amount to between 25,000 to 50,000 staff members.In response, a spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union – the largest trade union representing civil servants in the UK – accused the Tory leadership contender of continuing a “personal feud” after she was accused of bullying members of staff earlier this year, claims she dismissed.At the event hosted by The Spectator magazine, Ms Badenoch said: “I think that civil servants are like everybody else. They come in to do a job and I would say about 10 per cent of them are absolutely magnificent.“The trick to being a good minister is to find the good ones quickly, bring them close and try and get the bad ones out of your department as quickly as possible.”“There is about 5 per cent to 10 per cent of them who are very, very bad. You know, ‘should be in prison’ bad”, she added. “Leaking official secrets, undermining their ministers … agitating. I had some of it in my department, usually union-led, but most of them actually want to do a good job. And the good ones are very frustrated by the bad ones”. Responding to her remarks, the PCS spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch just can’t let it lie, can she? When she was in power she was accused of bullying civil servants.“Now she’s out of power she’s continuing her personal feud against them, many of whom are our members.“This is a below the belt attack on hard-working civil servants who can’t answer back.“We won’t stand for our members being used as vote fodder for the Tory Party leadership election.“Maybe Badenoch should reflect on her words, the way she treats civil servants and why the Tories lost the General Election.”In July, the former Cabinet minister was alleged to have created an intimidating atmosphere at the Department of Business and Trade in a report by the Guardian newspaper.Sources claimed Ms Badenoch was responsible for behaviour that traumatised staff, leading at least three of them to leave their jobs in the department.But she dismissed the accusations as “smears”, claiming they originated from “former staff who I sacked after they were accused of bullying behaviour, lying about other colleagues to cover up their own failures and general gross incompetence.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorFriends of Rishi Sunak have insisted that the former prime minister “has no intention” of quitting British politics after he steps down as Tory leader on 2 November.It is understood that Mr Sunak is already in the process of setting up his own operation based around his inner circle in Downing Street, including former political aide and long-time friend James Forsyth.“Rishi has lots of money so he is still employing his aides,” a former cabinet minister said. “He has no intention of quitting British politics – quite the reverse.”Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorA new survey commissioned by a right-wing think tank has suggested that 53 per cent of Conservative Party members would support a merger with Reform UK.A huge 70 per cent said they would want a closer relationship with Nigel Farage’s party, the survey showed.The poll, conducted between 23-27 September, surveyed 470 Tory members. It was carried out by the right-wing Popular Conservatism (PopCon) organisation, which was founded by Liz Truss, the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.Annunziata Rees-Mogg, PopCon’s head of communications and a former Brexit Party MEP, said: “Every Conservative activist and canvasser knows people who had been Tories, but voted Reform UK in July.Nigel Farage’s party won five seats and 4 million votes at the last election More

Immigrants who see Israel as enemy ‘not welcome’ in UK says Kemi BadenochYour support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseMy recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyondEric GarciaWashington Bureau ChiefRobert Jenrick has drawn criticism for his own colleagues for doubling down on a claim that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.The frontrunner to replace Rishi Sunak defended his assertion that the military is taking lethal action because of fears that European laws would free any detained assailants as “absolutely correct”.Asked on Tuesday whether he could back up the claim, he insisted he could not “elaborate on particular cases.Leadership rival Tom Tugendhat said he was “extremely concerned” at Mr Jenrick’s remarks. Former foreign secretary and fellow contender James Cleverly urged him to justify his statement. “The British military always abide by international humanitarian law, the law of armed conflict,” he said. “We have, I was about to say some of the most… no, we have the most professional military in the world. Our military do not murder people.”Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve described the clip as “one of the most astonishing videos I have ever seen posted by a Conservative MP, let alone a candidate for the leadership”.The Independent’s political team will be reporting live throughout the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.Show latest update 1727794430China could help prop up UK TV by buying Peppa Pig now the licence fee is ‘unsustainable’, Cleverly saysChina could help prop up UK TV by buying Peppa Pig and other content now the licence fee is “unsustainable”, James Cleverly has suggested.On the future of the TV Licence, Mr Cleverly said: “I had a delegation from the BBC come along to me and say, when I was a new MP, and they did the usual thing: ‘Oh, because of the unique way the BBC is funded ya-ya-ya.’“And I said to them, and I said to them at the time, this was back in 2015, I said ‘if I were you, at the next renegotiation of the licence fee, I would start your planning to become a subscription service.“‘You have a back catalogue of some of the best television in the world’. If Disney and Netflix can make money on the subscription model, the BBC should, because the bottom line is, in the era of streaming services, the tax to watch television is an unsustainable business model.“And that back catalogue of content that we have already paid for, why don’t we make sure that when China obsesses about Peppa Pig – apparently Peppa Pig is very popular in China – and other content, that they pay for it rather than demanding that we pay for it all over again?”Jabed Ahmed1 October 2024 15:531727793412Cleverly suggests Jenrick needs to ‘justify his words’ over special forces claimJames Cleverly has suggested leadership rival Robert Jenrick should “justify his words” after claiming that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.Asked about the remarks, which were made by the former immigration minister in a campaign video, Mr Cleverly said: “Look, whoever said that needs to justify their words.“I’ve never accused the British armed forces of murdering anybody and if you’re going to make that accusation you need to back it up.”Millie Cooke1 October 2024 15:361727792853Cleverly claims dozens of migrants could have been sent to Rwanda if election was delayedConservative Party leadership contender James Cleverly said “dozens” could have been sent to Rwanda under Rishi Sunak’s plans for asylum seekers and illegal migrants, if the election had been delayed.Speaking on the main stage of the Conservative Party conference, Mr Cleverly said if the election had not taken place earlier this year – with the incoming Labour Government scrapping the policy – more people would have gone to the East African country.He said: “I reckon at this point we could have sent dozens of people to Rwanda.“It’s not just about the people that you sent to Rwanda, because ideally you don’t want to be receiving people in the UK and sending them to Rwanda, you want people to stop coming to the UK.”He compared the plan to the success of the agreement with Albania, which saw illegal arrivals from the country drop by 90%.Mr Cleverly said: “The deal that we had with Albania… we didn’t need to send very many Albanians back to Albania before the message cut through ‘Don’t waste your time and money trying to get to the UK, because all they do is kick you out again’. That’s what would have happened once we got Rwanda up and running.”( More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorKemi Badenoch warned the Conservatives are no longer the “natural party of government” and may soon not even be the main opposition party as older Tory voters die off and younger voters look elsewhere.In a 20,000-word, 40-page essay, Ms Badenoch sets out how the Conservatives’ dire approval ratings among under-35s pose an existential challenge to the party and could see it relegated to the sidelines of British politics.And in a bid to pitch herself as the woman to revive the Tories’ fortunes, she claims a new and growing so-called “bureaucratic class” is behind “the rise of identity politics” and the UK’s stagnant economic growth.Kemi Badenoch claims “conservatism is in crisis” in a 20,000-word, 40-page essay More

Your support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorRobert Jenrick is closing in on Kemi Badenoch in the race to become the next Tory leader, a new poll has indicated.Six weeks ago, YouGov put Ms Badenoch 15 points ahead of Mr Jenrick, with party members backing the former business secretary by 48 per cent compared to Mr Jenrick’s 33 per cent if the two went head-to-head in the final round.But the latest polling puts Ms Badenoch just four points ahead of the ex-immigration minister. Conservative Party leadership contenders Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, waiting to appear on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) More