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    Tugendhat hits out at Tory rival Jenrick for using video of dead friend in false claim on UK special forces

    Tom Tugendhat has criticised Robert Jenrick for using footage of his friend, a Special Forces soldier, in a video claiming that British special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists”.The former immigration minister made the claim in a clip promoting his campaign to be the next Conservative party leader.His leadership contest rival told Newsnight that the footage contained images of a soldier who died shortly after the footage was filmed.”What’s particularly upsetting is that video is using a piece of footage of some of the people I served with, one of who died shortly after that film was taken in an accident and is not able to defend himself against the allegation that is being effectively levelled against him,” Mr Tugendhat said. More

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    Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick admits his daughter is named after Margaret Thatcher

    Robert Jenrick has revealed that his daughter is named after former Conservative prime minister Margaret Tatcer.During an interview on the main stage of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on Tuesday (1 October), the former immigration minister said he thought it would be a “good way of reminding her of a great prime minister.”Asked what his daughter’s middle name is, Mr Jenrick responded: “You’re embarrassing her now.“It is Margaret Thatcher”, he joked, adding: “No, it’s not, it’s ‘Thatcher’. She was born the year Margaret Thatcher died.” More

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    Young Tory explains key thing Conservatives must do to win back voters

    A young Tory member has explained the key step Conservatives must take to win back voters.Daniel Campbell, 20, spoke to The Independent as he attended his first Tory party conference in Birmingham on Monday (30 September).Mr Cambpell believes it is vital for the party to appeal to the younger generation following a disastrous general election campaign earlier this year.“The vast majority of our voters are older, but we need the next generation of voters,” he said.“We need to convince voters we are good people and not after power or money.“We need to win the people back.” More

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    Cleverly cups and Tugendhat fake tan: The Tory party conference’s most popular merchandise

    From James Cleverly cups and Kemi Badenoch cola bottles, to Tom Tugendhat fake tan and Robert Jenrick baseball hats.These are just some of the Conservative leadership candidate’s merchandise available at the party conference in Birmingham.The Independent took a closer look at the products on offer from the four hopefuls wanting to replace Rishi Sunak as leader.The contest is set to go from four to two in the next fortnight, and then members will have their final choice in the run-off. While the merchandise may not truly swing votes, it does give an indication of the strength of each campaign team. More

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    Jonathan Gullis complains he can’t get a job as a teacher because he’s a Tory

    Former Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis has claimed that he is unable to get a job as a teacher because he is a Tory.Speaking at the party conference in Birmingham on Monday, 30 September, Mr Gullis was asked if he thinks that the teaching profession specifically goes against him as he is a Conservative.Gullis, who lost his seat in the 2024 general election to a Labour candidate, explained that he believes schools “will see who I used to represent and maybe my views, which they may not like” and because of that will not give him an interview. More

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    Kemi Badenoch explains why she feels ‘sympathy’ for Labour MPs

    Kemi Badenoch has suggested she feels sympathy for Labour MPs because they “had no idea what they were getting themselves into”.During an appearance on LBC, the Conservative leadership hopeful discussed the stark difference between being in opposition and being in government.“We’re not in charge anymore, we lost the election, but we understand what it is like,” Ms Badenoch explained.“Sometimes I actually feel very sympathetic for Labour MPs and ministers, because they had no idea what they were getting themselves into and you can see they’re making a horlicks of so much.”Ms Badenoch went on to suggest she would be a strong communicator if elected as the new Tory leader. More

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    Who will be the next leader of The Conservatives?

    Following on from their election defeat and Rishi Sunak departing, the Conservatives have been locked in a leadership campaign to pick the next party leader.Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat are the final four vying to win the leadership and return a fractious party back to power from Kier Starmer’s Labour. But who will win and who’s most likely to succeed? Kate Devlin and John Rentoul cast an eye over the field of candidates and pick who they think is next face Kier Starmer at the dispatch box in Westminster. More

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    Keir Starmer refuses four times to apologise to pensioners for cutting winter fuel payments

    Sir Keir Starmer refused four times to apologise to pensioners for cutting winter fuel payments during an interview with Good Morning Britain.The prime minister sat down with Susanna Reid at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.“Would you like to take this opportunity to say sorry?” the presenter asked.“I am really concerned that we have been put in this position,” Sir Keir responded.The question was then repeated another three times but was not directly answered.“I promised we would stabilise the economy,” the PM responded, suggesting the people who should be apologising are the previous government. More