UK politics live: Jenrick cuts Badenoch Tory poll lead as Tugendhat won’t guarantee winter fuel reversal

Former PM Liz Truss dismissed claims that her mini-budget was to blame for the disastrous state of the economy

Immigrants who see Israel as enemy ‘not welcome’ in UK says Kemi Badenoch

Robert Jenrick has drawn closer to Kemi Badenoch by four points in a head-to-head poll of Conservative members.

Mr Jenrick was almost 20 points behind the former business secretary six weeks ago. However, a new YouGov poll has shown the former immigration minister is beginning to reverse his fate as the annual Conservative Party conference enters its penultimate day.

Some 52 per cent of Tory members preferred Ms Badenoch as Tory leader while 48 per cent backed Mr Jenrick, the poll found.

It comes as fellow Conservative leadership contender Tom Tugendhat declined to commit to reversing Labour’s cuts to winter fuel payments if he becomes leader of the party.

He said he would not “undermine” his promise to restore trust in politics by writing a budget “four years’ out”.

The shadow security minister told LBC: “I’m not going to write a budget for four years’ time. You know that it wouldn’t be honest for me to do so.”

The Independent’s political team will be reporting live throughout the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.

Key Points

• Cleverly and Jenrick face Tory members on penultimate conference day
• Civil service chief Simon Case to stand down at end of year on health grounds
• Badenoch compares herself to Thatcher over misrepresented maternity claim
• Liz Truss repeats ‘it wasn’t me’ defence for mini-budget
• Truss describes Tory leadership contenders as useless

[1 October 2024 10:09 · Jabed Ahmed]

Watch: Young Tory explains key thing Conservatives must do to win back voters

[1 October 2024 09:49 · Jabed Ahmed]

Jenrick doubles down as Tory leadership rivals criticise special forces claim

Robert Jenrick has doubled down on his widely criticised claim that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists” after a Conservative Party leadership rival accused him of misunderstanding the law of armed conflict.

The frontrunner in the race to replace Rishi Sunak defended as “absolutely correct” his assertion that the British military is taking lethal action because of fears that European laws would free any detained assailants.

Asked on Tuesday whether he could back up the claim, he insisted he could not “elaborate on particular cases” and instead cited comments made by ex-defence secretary Ben Wallace to the Telegraph.

Mr Wallace told the newspaper last year that Britain was unable to render people across borders, meaning “we are more often than not forced into taking lethal action (rather) than actually raiding and detaining”.

Leadership rival Tom Tugendhat said he was “extremely concerned” at Mr Jenrick’s remarks, while fellow contender James Cleverly urged him to justify his statement in media appearances on Tuesday morning.

Repeatedly asked whether he knows that special forces are killing terrorists instead of capturing them, Mr Jenrick told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “As Ben Wallace has said in that (Telegraph) interview, decision-makers are being asked to make decisions which they might not ordinarily make – for example, to call in a drone strike and take lethal action in that way.”

Mr Jenrick drew condemnation from across the political divide over his claim in a promotional video for his leadership bid that special forces are “killing rather than capturing terrorists because our lawyers tell us that if they are caught the European court will set them free”.

[1 October 2024 09:30 · Jabed Ahmed]

Businessman says he made £75,000 Jenrick donation amid transparency concerns

A prominent businessman has named himself as the source of a £75,000 donation to Robert Jenrick amid transparency concerns over the ultimate origin of the funds.

Entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann said he gave the money to the Conservative Party leadership frontrunner through Spott Fitness, a fitness coaching app provider which he said is “part of my family’s group of businesses”.

However, Mr Ullmann’s name does not currently appear on the list of people with significant control in Spott Fitness at Companies House, leaving a question mark over his formal links to the organisation.

The UK elections watchdog has said it is “considering carefully” a letter from Labour demanding an investigation into the source of the money after Mr Jenrick received three donations of £25,000 from the business in July.

Its latest accounts show it has no employees, has never made a profit and has more than £300,000 of debts, and in January it registered a loan from Centrovalli, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

In a statement on Monday, Mr Ullmann said he wanted to avoid suggestions that he is “hiding anything” and insisted he understands the importance of transparency surrounding political donations.

“I’ve been a successful businessman over the years. But in recent times I’ve become concerned about the grave challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world,” he said.

[1 October 2024 09:15 · Jabed Ahmed]

Coming up: Cleverly and Jenrick face Tory members on penultimate conference day

James Cleverly and Robert Jenrick will face a grilling from Conservative members on the main stage of the party conference during its penultimate day.

The two hopefuls to succeed Rishi Sunak will follow in the footsteps of rivals Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat, who were questioned by members on Monday.

The Birmingham conference, a subdued affair in which Tory members are seeking to regroup after their crippling election defeat, was overshadowed by global events as it headed into its third day.

On Monday, Ms Badenoch and her campaign team continued to grapple with the aftermath of her suggestion that statutory maternity leave pay was part of an “excessive” function of tax.

Speaking on the main conference stage, she compared her remarks with the often-repeated quote attributed to Margaret Thatcher that there is “no such thing as society”, from an interview the ex-prime minister gave to a women’s magazine about the importance of family.

[1 October 2024 08:59 · Jabed Ahmed]

Migrants to be stuck in hotels for up to three years due to asylum backlog

Read the full report from my colleague Archie Mitchell below:

[1 October 2024 08:40 · Jabed Ahmed]

Jenrick insists his values have not changed over Brexit u-turn

Robert Jenrick insisted his “values haven’t changed” when asked why he voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit referendum but later backed leaving the bloc.

The Tory leadership frontrunner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I got behind the democratic decision of the people of this country.”

He added that he had realised while serving as a minister in the Home Office that “we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe”.

“My values haven’t changed, but it’s certainly true that over time the things I have seen in the ministerial jobs that I have done have led me to conclusions that the British state isn’t working in the interests of the British people, and in particular my time at the Home Office where I saw that we were not able to secure our borders and to keep the public safe, which to my mind is the most basic duty of our country,” Mr Jenrick said.

[1 October 2024 08:29 · Jabed Ahmed]

Top Boris Johnson critic calls for Tories to ban self-obsessed MPs

[1 October 2024 08:21 · Jabed Ahmed]

Defence spending should be increased to 3 per cent, Tugendhat says

Tom Tugendhat said there was a “very clear argument” that defence spending should be increased towards 3%.

The Tory leadership candidate told LBC: “There’s a very, very clear argument that in order protect ourselves to make sure we’re ready for whatever the world throws at us, we need to be increasing defence spending to 3% and investing in technology.”

He added: “Frankly, it’s an insurance premium that if we don’t pay, the alternative is more expensive.”

[1 October 2024 08:16 · Jabed Ahmed]

Tory leadership contender refuses to commit to reversing winter fuel payment cull

Tom Tugendhat has declined to commit to reverse Labour’s cuts to the winter fuel payment if he becomes Tory leader, saying he would not “undermine” his promise to restore trust in politics by writing a budget “four years’ out.”

The shadow security minister told LBC: “I’m not going to write a budget for four years’ time. You know that it wouldn’t be honest for me to do so.

“I’m not going to promise to restore trust and immediately undermine it by making promises that are four years’ out… there’s no way that anyone can write it at this stage.”

He said under his leadership the Tories would “look after old people” by “making sure we support them in difficult times”.

[1 October 2024 08:10 · Jabed Ahmed]

James Cleverly says he supports Israel’s ground incursion into Lebanon

James Cleverly has said he supports Israel’s military incursion into Lebanon.

Asked on Sky News if he supports Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon, the former foreign secretary said: “I do, and the reason why is what I have always said, Israel has the right to defend itself.

“Israel has been at the receiving end of rockets from Hamas, who are embedded within Lebanese society. I love Lebanon. I’ve been to Beirut.

“I’ve spoken with representatives of many of the parts of Lebanese society on a very, very regular basis.

“But Hezbollah are doing huge damage, not just to Israel, but to the Lebanese people.

Those rockets have been raining down for months, and Israel has now taken action.

“My support has always come with the caveat that Israel must continue to adhere to international humanitarian law. They absolutely have the right to defend themselves.”

For context, Israel’s military says it has begun a “targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon, with its troops conducting raids on Hezbollah targets and infrastructure along the border.