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”.
During a Conservative Friends of Israel fringe event, Mr Jenrick called for the Star of David to be displayed at every point of entry to the UK to show “we stand with Israel” while wearing a “Hamas Are Terrorists” hoodie.
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
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.”
Farage slates both Badenoch and Jenrick
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has attacked both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick as the four Tory leadership candidates prepare to pitch for votes at the party’s conference.
Mr Farage wrote on social media: “Kemi Badenoch has spent weeks positioning herself as tough on immigration. But in 2018 she campaigned in Parliament to increase legal migration, and was the biggest champion for students bringing in dependents.
“I don’t believe a word that she says on anything.”
And he branded Mr Jenrick “formerly a man that believed in nothing”, saying he now pitched himself as the great hardliner.
Mr Farage added: “This is almost certainly done for political gain and not out of conviction. He will divide the party. I doubt that Jenrick will last long if he wins.”
He said: “The Conservative Party is split down the middle and the brand is completely broken.”
Badenoch: Leaving ECHR ‘not a silver bullet’ for migration crisis
Kemi Badenoch has downplayed the idea of quitting the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as a solution to the UK’s migration challenges, suggesting it would not be her first step in addressing the issue.
In a video posted on X, she said: “A lot of people talk about leaving the ECHR as if it is a silver bullet. It’s not. Leaving the ECHR alone will not solve our immigration issues. It’s not even the most radical thing we need to do.
“We need a wholesale strategy that starts with thinking about what kind of country we want to be, who are we letting in, why are they here? How long are they going to be here for? Are they committed to our country? Do they want to be British?”
Senior minister defends Labour after Rosie Duffield’s resignation
Following Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield’s resignation from the Labour Party, senior minister and Sir Keir Starmer ally Pat McFadden has expressed regret over her departure.
He told Sky News: “I regret that Rosie’s made this decision. It’s probably not a secret that she’s been unhappy for some time.”
When pressed on Ms Duffield’s claim that she is “ashamed” of the party, McFadden said: “Well, I’m not ashamed of the party. You know, we’ve got a new Labour government. We’ve got a big agenda ahead of us.”
Rosie Duffield’s resignation letter in full
Rosie Duffield has quit as a Labour MP, criticising leader Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to scrap winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and also his decision to retain the two-child benefit cap for parents.
In a three-page letter, published in the Sunday Times, she also slammed his treatment of fellow MP Diane Abbot, as well as his “managerial style and technocratic approach.”
She plans to sit as an independent MP. Below is her letter in full.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield’s resignation letter in full
Rosie Duffield has quit as a Labour MP, attacking Sir Keir Starmer’s “cruel and unnecessary policies” and the freebie row engulfing the party.
Cleverly favourite Tory leadership hopeful among British public
James Cleverly is the preferred candidate to win the Tory leadership race amongst the British public, a new poll has shown - but a majority of respondents said they don’t know who they would support.
Asked which candidate would make the best prime minister, new polling by Techne put the former home secretary narrowly ahead of his rival candidates at 13 per cent support.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke has the full story:
Cleverly favourite Tory leadership candidate among British public, new poll shows
Polling comes on the first day of Conservative Party’s annual conference, which will see leadership candidates fight for support of members
Mordaunt vows to ‘restore soul’ of Conservative party
Penny Mordaunt said she will lead work to “restore the soul” of the Conservative Party and win back power.
After an introduction from party chairman Richard Fuller, during a session focusing on why the party lost the general election and how it can win again, Ms Mordaunt said: “The chairman has asked me to help us as a party reconnect with those that we serve and protect.”
The former leader of the Commons said that less than two per cent of the UK population are members of any political party.
Ms Mordaunt added: “So we will need the largest outreach programme any party has undertaken, and that is what I will prepare.
“Will you help restore the soul of this party, to place Britain’s values back at the heart of everything we do to earn back trust, approval from the public, and perhaps even pride? For without that, no policy or personality will matter.
“Do this well, then when the nation goes looking for those in tune with its values again, we will be there.”
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