UK politics live: Kemi Badenoch grilled after Tory conference rivals jump on ‘excessive’ maternity pay claim
Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch under fire for maternity pay claim but says remarks were ‘misrepresented’
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Kemi Badenoch is set to face questions from Tory members after sparking controversy for describing maternity pay as “excessive” and calling for greater personal responsibility.
In an interview with Times Radio, the Tory leadership hopeful argued that government intervention on issues like the maternity benefit had gone “too far”, placing a burden on businesses.
Ms Badenoch’s remarks have drawn fierce criticism, with union bosses and campaigners condemning them as “out of touch” and “another example of dog-whistle politics”.
Reacting to the comments, rival candidate Tom Tugendhat said he did not know the context of Ms Badenoch’s claims but that it is important for women to have the ability to choose, while Robert Jenrick said the party should be “firmly on the side of parents and working mums”.
Despite the internal division, Rishi Sunak urged the party to stop squabbling and unite behind whoever wins the contest to replace him in his final conference speech yesterday.
And today leadership rivals Mr Tugendhat and Ms Badenoch will appear on the main stage of the Tory conference to make their cases to party members.
The Independent’s political team will be reporting live throughout the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Tugendhat and Badenoch face questions from Tory members on conference main stage
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Conservative party chairman urges rivals to stop ‘blue-on-blue attacks'
Richard Fuller, chairman of the Conservative Party, has urged the leadership contestants to “stop and think” and unite behind whoever wins the contest.
He told Times Radio: “Myself, the shadow chief whip and the head of the 1922 Committee (of backbench MPs) were very clear at the start, we wanted a campaign where there was no blue-on-blue (attacks).”
He added: “Each of them should stop and think about: they want to lead a party, would they want all of their colleagues who are unsuccessful – should they be elected – to go off into their own corners, or would they want them to come in behind them as leader?
“And I think when they do stop and think they’ll realise that they should be all on one team.”
On comments made by Kemi Badenoch about maternity leave provision, Mr Fuller said: “It’s important that the media are able to challenge our politicians, but equally, if you want to have coherent governance, you’ve got to give our politicians some space to do exactly what you said, to stop, think and then clarify.
“And that’s exactly what Kemi did.”
COMMENT | Is this the moment that Rachel Reeves put ‘what works’ before dogma?
Ditch the non-dom tax, chancellor – and bring in a Robin Hood tax instead, writes John Rentoul:
Is this the moment that Rachel Reeves put ‘what works’ before dogma?
Ditch the non-dom tax, chancellor – and bring in a Robin Hood tax instead, writes John Rentoul
UK economy grew by 0.5% in the second quarter
September has recorded the fastest annual house price growth in around two years, according to an index.
UK house prices increased by 0.7 per cent in September, Nationwide Building Society said.
This resulted in the annual growth rate accelerating from 2.4 per cent in August to 3.2 per cent in September – the fastest pace since November 2022.
The average UK house price in September is £266,094.
Full story: Badenoch sparks Tory leadership row over maternity pay
Kemi Badenoch has caused an eruption at the Tory party conference after she was forced to backtrack on an attack on statutory maternity pay by initially claiming it was “excessive”.
The Tory leadership contender on Sunday said the government was doing “too much” on statutory maternity pay, before backtracking on the remarks.
But her comments were seized upon by leadership rivals Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat in a row that ensured hopes the conference would avoid “blue on blue” infighting were dashed.
You can read the full story below:
Kemi Badenoch sparks Tory leadership row after ‘excessive’ maternity pay remarks
Tory leadership contender has caused consternation at the party conference after claiming the government was doing ‘too much’ on statutory maternity pay, before backtracking
Tugendhat and Badenoch face questions from Tory members on conference main stage
Two candidates for the Tory leadership are to set out their stall on the main stage of the Tory conference, as former prime minister Liz Truss also makes her headline appearance.
Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch will face questions from party members in Birmingham, while Ms Truss is expected at a fringe in-conversation event on the second day of the four-day gathering.
The Conservatives’ last conference in Birmingham in 2022 was dominated by Tory infighting over Ms Truss’s ill-fated mini budget.
The contest to replace Rishi Sunak as leader has taken centre stage at the party’s first conference since their general election defeat.
James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick, the other two candidates, will face questions today, before all four contenders make speeches on Wednesday before the close of the conference.
Train drivers’ union calls on government to ‘think again’ on peak rail fares
A train drivers’ union has called on the Scottish Government to “think again” over its decision to restore peak time fares on Scotland’s railways.
The Aslef union described the government’s decision to end a nearly year-long trial scrapping peak time fares as “a tax on workers”.
The change has seen the price of an anytime return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh rise from £16.20 to £31.40.
The union added that it was a “short-sighted” decision that would damage local economies and make it harder to meet climate targets, and called on the government to reverse it in the next budget.
Aslef Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay said: “The flawed decision by First Minister John Swinney and transport minister Fiona Hyslop to restore peak fares will fleece passengers and is a huge mistake that must be rectified in the next Scottish budget.
“Peak fares are no more than a tax on workers and removing them was a step in the right direction to make rail fares more affordable. It put more money in the pockets of rail passengers.
“In Fiona Hyslop’s own constituency, the impact will be severe.
“If a worker now has to get an on-peak return fare from Linlithgow to Glasgow five days a week for four weeks in a month, they will be £166 per month worse off.
“That is a shocking indictment of the decision she has made and the level of these rises in fares will impact local economies all across Scotland as people see their disposable income reduced.”
Last blast furnace shuts down at Port Talbot, ending virgin steel production
It is the end at one of the biggest steelworks in the world as the last blast furnace shuts down, leaving it unable to make its own steel.
Nearly 2,000 jobs will be lost at Tata Steel UK’s Port Talbot plant as blast furnace number four ceases production meaning it will no longer be able to make virgin steel.
The ironworks will enter a transition phase until 2027 when steelmaking will resume through a £1.25 billion electric arc furnace.
The new furnace uses electric current to melt scrap steel or iron to produce steel, whereas blast furnaces use coke, a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal to produce steel.
Moving to electric arc steel production will reduce the UK’s overall Co2 emissions by around 1.5%.
In its heyday during the 1960s, more than 18,000 people were employed at Port Talbot’s Abbey steelworks.
But the site has gone through many periods of change, which has sometimes resulted in strikes and job cuts.
Indian conglomerate Tata purchased the steelworks in 2007.
Ben Houchen says Tories have ‘a huge job to do’ on trust
Voters must see that the Conservative Party takes its 2024 election loss “seriously”, Lord Ben Houchen has said.
The Tees Valley mayor warned his party has a “huge job to do” with to regain support from its own voter base, along with the votes which he said “bled” to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats under Sir Ed Davey in July this year.
Lord Houchen was seen descending an escalator with leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat at his party’s Birmingham conference on Sunday, but warned he had not backed any of the four candidates.
“It’s been quite a slow start I think to the leadership race and I think the conference will see it come alive,” the mayor told the PA news agency.
“I’m meeting with all of the candidates while we’re here at conference and I’ve been speaking to Tom and the others already.
“So it’s just another catch-up.”
He added: “I’ve met with them all previously and they all want to have a conversation.
“I’ll listen to them, I want to hear what they want to stand for, I want to hear a bit more detail about some of their policy agenda as well and what they’re going to do to be able to bring the party back together and make it a fighting force in electoral terms again.”
Tories should hang heads in shame over Send provision, shadow minister says
The previous Conservative government should hang its head in shame after it failed those “most in need”, a shadow education minister said.
Tory MP Gagan Mohindra accused his party of not doing enough for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) during its time in power.
Mr Mohindra, who served in the party’s whips’ office between September 2023 and July 2024, made the comments at a Conservative Party conference fringe event on Sunday.
He added that he is frustrated that in some cases parents are “pushed from pillar to post” when trying to secure adequate provision for their children.
The MP for South West Hertfordshire said: “Hertfordshire (County Council) has invested into Send provision, but actually it’s awful.
“I hold my hand up as a Conservative member of Parliament saying my government didn’t do enough on this.
“Yes, we were fighting a global pandemic, and a cost-of-living crisis, and all the rest of it, but actually, the inability for politicians to step in when those most in need needed our support, I think is something we should hang our heads in shame and apologise for, and I’ll happily do that on stage today.”
Tories beat Lobby in football match for first time in 12 years
Conservative Party MPs and officials scored a victory in a closely fought football match to kick off their annual party conference in Birmingham, in their first victory against the journalists’ side for 12 years.
The winning team had only one serving MP in their ranks, shadow education minister Gagan Mohindra, but the side was bolstered by former MPs Brendan Clarke-Smith and Karl McCartney who turned out for the side.
Both lost their seats at the general election. From the peers, Lord Evans of Rainow completed the lineup.
The lobby side dominated the early stages of the first half at the Aston Villa Academy Centre in Birmingham. They took a well-deserved lead after 21 minutes. Good work on the right saw the ball cut back to an unmarked Richard Vaughan who finished with ease.
The Lobby continued to dominate, but could not turn their possession into clear chances on goal. Their wastefulness was then punished by the Conservative side, who scrambled the ball over the line to equalise 10 minutes after the opener. A corner came over from the left and was not dealt with before it was forced in at the far post.
The Tories then seized the initiative with a fine goal to take the lead just before half time. A incisive through ball saw staff member Jack Pollard race beyond the defence into the area, before cutting the ball back and curling a fine shot into the top corner.
The Lobby started the second half by trying to seize the initiative again, but struggled to make a break through and Mr Pollard continued to cause problems for their back line.
However, they managed to get back on level terms halfway through the second half. A cross from the right was met by MPs’ centre back Jack Doyle, who in straining to stop the ball diverted it past his own goalkeeper.
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