Budget: Kemi Badenoch slams ‘shameless’ Rachel Reeves Politics The mood in the House of Commons morphed from rowdy to somewhat tense following the Budget, as Kemi Badenoch launched a series of scathing political and personal attacks on Rachel Reeves. The Conservative leader slammed the Chancellor’s position as “untenable”, and her fiscal announcements as a “Budget for Benefits Street”. Badenoch said: “I hope she [...]
Reform and Tories battle over the Budget with spending cuts calls Politics Opposition parties Reform UK and the Conservatives are intensifying pressure on Labour ahead of the Budget with calls for dramatic spending cuts to fix public finances. In separate press conferences on Tuesday, leaders Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch called for deep cuts to government expenditure to balance the books. Their renewed attacks on the government [...]
Starmer’s approval ratings hit record low amid Reform and Green squeeze Politics Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have hit a fresh low as voters brace for a battering at the Budget. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters has shown that Keir Starmer’s net approval rating has cratered to -45, the lowest level since our monthly polling began in January this year. His Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, [...]
Conservatives pledge to scrap ‘stifling’ ESG reporting for British businesses November 9, 2025 The Conservatives have pledged to scrap all mandatory reporting related to sustainability and climate change as they focus on business-friendly policy commitments. The party has argued that environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting has “mutated” into a thicket of red tape which reduces the competitiveness of British business. “[There] is no evidence that [reporting measures] [...]
Conservatives will attempt to block Chagos deal over China spying fears October 18, 2025 Conservative MPs will launch a last-ditch attempt to block the Chagos Islands deal next week due to fears it will be used by China to spy on the UK. First reported in the Telegraph, the Tories plan to force a vote in Parliament over whether to effectively end the deal by holding up payments to [...]
Kemi gets the stamp of approval, but for how long? October 8, 2025 Kemi Badenoch’s speech at Conservative Party Conference was a vital moment to reset her leadership and reclaim her party’s mantle as the party of business. She rose to it, says Alys Denby One of the chief joys of Conservative Party Conference is being denounced as “Tory scum” by a protester standing outside in the rain. [...]
Has the wind shifted on Net Zero? October 2, 2025 Once upon a time the promise of Net Zero enjoyed such universal support that a Tory government signed the UK’s Net Zero pledge into law. Today, the Tories say they’d scrap it – while alarm bells are ringing as the costs of the policy become clearer. In June 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May passed a [...]
There is a way back for the Conservatives October 2, 2025 The Tories have been quiet of late, pushed to the margins of the post-summer political debate and either mocked or ignored by the other parties whose conferences have sucked up the airtime in recent weeks. But this weekend they gather in Manchester and while the event won’t command the nation’s undivided attention it is a [...]
Reform could yet come crashing down to earth September 25, 2025 Analysing Welsh council by-elections may not be your idea of a good time (it isn’t mine, frankly) but one caught my eye last week. In the ward of Trowbridge in Cardiff, Labour lost the seat as the party’s vote share evaporated, down more than 30 per cent. They came third, behind the Liberal Democrats who [...]
Carlton Club in the red as it counts the cost of Labour’s victory September 11, 2025 The Conservative Party stronghold, the Carlton Club, has fallen into the red as it counted the cost of Labour’s victory in last year’s general election. The private members’ club, which was the original home of the party, said it lost out on revenue after “functions declined due to the cancellation of political events following political [...]