Tory leadership: James Cleverly tops MP ballot as Tom Tugendhat knocked out October 8, 2024 James Cleverly has topped the latest MP ballot to take over as Tory leader, with rival candidate Tom Tugendhat being eliminated from the race. Former home and foreign secretary Cleverly received 39 votes from Tory MPs in the latest round of voting in the race to replace Rishi Sunak as leader. He overtook fellow hopeful [...]
The Capitalist: Tory Conference; sex in the City; matters of quizness October 3, 2024 Dispatches from Tory Party Conference, recruitment turns steamy and more: catch up on the latest City gossip in The Capitalist.
Maternity pay is an investment, not a cost October 3, 2024 Shortsighted criticism of the cost and admin involved in maternity leave do not take account of the wider benefits to society, says John Oxley There may be some businesses that bristle at the costs and admin of maternity leave. While the state essentially picks up the tab for statutory leave, this doesn’t stretch to the [...]
Who came out on top at Conservative Party Conference? October 3, 2024 While Kemi Badenoch did the most to undermine her own chances of becoming leader of the Conservative Party, James Cleverly came across as everybody’s favourite second choice, William Atkinson Party conferences are always odd. As Conservative membership has dwindled from 1m in 1990 to around 100,000 today – CCHQ won’t publish the figure, out of [...]
Let’s be honest… the Conservatives are deluded October 3, 2024 The Conservative Party is enjoying the sugar rush of a leadership campaign, but the grim reality of opposition will soon sink in, says Matthew Lesh The vibe at the Conservative Party conference this week in Birmingham was chipper. Well-lubricated members excitedly shuffled between drinks receptions headlined by the four leadership contenders. There were impromptu rallies, [...]
Tories must get out of their bubble and listen to business October 2, 2024 To those outside the bubble of true blue believers, Conservative party conference looked deranged. As violence exploded in the Middle East, delegates in Birmingham were battling over novelty merchandise and queuing for selfies with election losers. Fringe events debating the meaning of conservatism were packed while corporate sponsors and business lobbyists were conspicuous by their [...]
Tory leadership: Pledges of ‘wealth creation’ and red tape cuts in speeches October 1, 2024 Promises to champion “wealth creation” and slash red tape will be offered to party members as the four candidates vying for the Tory leadership give their keynote conference speeches. Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat will take to the main stage at the Conservative Party’s annual event in Birmingham on Wednesday morning [...]
Tory leadership: Jenrick warns of ‘big task’ to restore economic credibility October 1, 2024 Robert Jenrick has warned it will be a “big task” for the next Conservative party leader to restore the party’s “economic credibility” following Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-Budget. The leadership candidate, speaking at a Q&A for party members at the annual conference in Birmingham, told the audience he was “not happy” about the current levels of [...]
Tory leadership: Kemi Badenoch’s lead drops as Robert Jenrick closes in October 1, 2024 Kemi Badenoch’s poll lead amongst Tory members has dropped from 18 points to just four ahead of rival Robert Jenrick, a new survey has found. The YouGov poll with Sky News found that if Badenoch and Jenrick went head-to-head in the final round, members would choose her by 52 per cent versus his 48 per [...]
Badenoch and Tugendhat flash low tax credentials September 30, 2024 Kemi Badenoch has said she would “love to see lower corporation tax” and stressed the need to “increase the appetite for risk taking” in a bid to go for growth. The former business secretary’s comments came during a leadership Q&A session for party members at the annual Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. She told the [...]