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
Sunak urges Tories to end infighting to avoid future election defeats
Rosie Duffield claims Keir Starmer ‘has problem with women’ after quitting Labour
Keir Starmer tightens rules on gifts and donations after Rosie Duffield’s ‘avarice’ accusation
Badenoch says she believes in maternity pay after ‘excessive’ remark
Kemi Badenoch has been forced to stress that she does believe in maternity pay after she sparked fury by saying it was “excessive”.
The Tory leadership contender on Sunday said the government was doing “too much” on statutory maternity pay, before quickly backtracking on the remarks.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full story:
Badenoch says she believes in maternity pay after ‘excessive’ remark sparks backlash
Tory leadership contender said government was doing ‘too much’ on statutory maternity pay, before quickly backtracking
Tugendhat: Iran is a pernicious and vicious threat
Tom Tugendhat has now taken the Sky News stage to make his case for the Tory leadership.
Like his contenders, he is asked about his message to Israel.
Mr Tugendhat replied: “Well, I’d be saying to Iran that this is no time for escalation, this is no time for reinforcing your militias in the region.”
The veteran added that “we don’t just have to be tough in words, we have to be tough in action” in dealing with Tehran, highlighting his introduction of the National Security Act.
He added: “We need to be absolutely clear, Iran is a pernicious and vicious threat, not just to the region but also us in the United Kingdom.”
‘If you swing at me, I will swing back,’ Badenoch warns
Kemi Badenoch has ben pressed about her recent rows with David Tennant and Nadine Dorries.
The Tory leadership candidate previously hit out at the Doctor Who actor in a campaign video saying the star is “the problem”.
The former business secretary was also engulfed in a row involving Ms Dorries, who claimed Ms Badenoch was aligned to a plot to control the Conservative Party.
Asked about the disagreements, she said: “I don’t know, I guess it must be being somebody who’s very forthright... There I was being nice, minding my own business and then they came after me.”
She added: “[David Tennant] told me to ‘shut up’. Why is it that people worry about someone who told back? They don’t like it when women talk back, they don’t like it when politicians talk back.
“I will talk back. I will not stand there and let people punch me. If you swing at me, I will swing back. But I don’t look for fights.”
Asked if she was “too Nigerian” for British politics, she added: “I doubt that, Nigerians tell me I’m too British. I am just Kemi, I am something that’s just different and unique. And that’s why I stand out in this contest, and that’s why I think members like me.”
Keir Starmer tightens rules on gifts and donations in fightback
Sir Keir Starmer has launched a fightback against accusations his government is mired in “sleaze, nepotism and avarice” with an announcement that the rules on declaring donations and gifts will be changed.
The prime minister and a succession of cabinet ministers have been pilloried for accepting thousands of pounds in freebies from corporate sponsors and millionaire donors with the scandal hitting the party in the polls.
You can read the full story below:
Starmer tightens rules on gifts and donations after Duffield’s ‘avarice’ accusation
Senior cabinet minister announces ‘end of Tory loophole’ after maverick MP Rosie Duffield quit Labour, accusing Sir Keir of presiding over ‘sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice’
Pictured: Delegates arrive at Conservative party conference
Robert Jenrick squirms over support for Donald Trump in US election
Robert Jenrick squirmed as he was challenged over his past support for Donald Trump, saying it is “natural” for a Conservative to lean towards Republican candidates.
The Tory leadership contest frontrunner was noticeably uncomfortable when the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg challenged him over his past support for the bombastic ex-US president.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:
Robert Jenrick squirms over support for Donald Trump in US election
The Tory leadership contender pointed out that his party has ‘strong and historic links’ to the Republican Party
Anti-Brexit campaigner blasts conference with funerial music
After appearing to have descended into complete irrelevance with no protesters at all in Birmingham, Tory conference organisers may be relieved that the voice of anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray has put them back on the map.
Bray, a familiar figure in Westminster, turned up late on Sunday afternoon with his loudspeaker and started to blast the conference centre and few delegates in the building with funerial music.
Before that, the lack of protesters was matched only by the shortage of party members at a conference which is purely focused on the leadership election rather than the country.
Mordaunt compares Starmer to ‘corrupt Filipino politician'
Former Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt has compared Sir Keir Starmer’s first 12 weeks as Prime Minister to those of corrupt former Filipino politician Imelda Marcos.
Ms Mordaunt said Britons’ values meant they were already concerned about the conduct of Sir Keir, who has faced scrutiny over donations he has taken since being elected Labour leader in 2020.
She told the Conservative Party conference: “The good news is that the belief in those values… is now causing them to feel a little bit icky about their new Prime Minister.
“A chap who in a mere 12 weeks has brought doubt to our economy, fear to our elderly, a touch of the Imelda Marcos to the office of Prime Minister, and sausage memes to our timelines.
“They are right to be iffy about him.”
ANALYSIS | Rosie Duffield’s resignation letter is a warning Starmer cannot ignore
Abit like the little boy in the old fairytale The Emperor’s New Clothes, who points out that the ruler is naked, sometimes someone says what everyone else is thinking but is too scared to express.
Rosie Duffield’s castigating letter to Keir Starmer certainly falls into this category, as she surgically dismembered what have been a dreadful first 10 weeks for the new Labour government with almost brutal glee.
You can read the full analysis below:
Rosie Duffield’s resignation letter is a warning Starmer cannot ignore
News analysis: Attention-seeking maverick Rosie Duffield has a long history as a critic of Keir Starmer, but her resignation letter says out loud what many Labour MPs are privately thinking
Badenoch: ‘I would be congratulating Netanyahu’
Kemi Badenoch has claimed she would “congratulate Netanyahu” following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The Tory contender added: “I think what they did was extraordinary. Israel has more clarity in leading with its enemies and the enemies of the west.”
Asked whether Israel should get a free pass, she said: “It is not about a free pass, but Israel has the right of defend itself.”
The former minister claimed assassination of Mr Nasrallah “will create more peace in the Middle East.”
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