Tag: Tory

It's August 2018 and not only is Brexit still a thing, it's actually looking worse and worse as the days go by. We hate to tell you this Jacob, but it's possible that a lot of trust in British politics might have already evaporated with Brexit or no Brexit. Hasn't anyone told you? https://t.co/BJF2NrzRMI — Steve Emm #FBPE (@StevieEmmm) August 29, 2018 Trust has gone because of liars like you & Patel & Jenkyns & Farage & Johnson & Gove & Duncan-Smith & Baker & Dorries & Leadsom & Hoey & Grayling & May & Raab & Field & Trevelyan & Stringer & Paterson & Villiers and Whittingdale and Fox and Redwood and Mordaunt & Davis & Kwarteng https://t.co/Lbli3pY0qY — The Great Remain #FBPE (@TheGreatRemain) August 28, 2018 If you think there is an iota of trust in politics, then you, Jacob, are a fool Thanks to dishonest, self-motivated, manipulative leaders such as yourself, the people have no faith in the UK political system to deliver a better quality of life#Brexit is symptomatic of distrust https://t.co/zr8AoZneK8 — Madeleina Kay ???? #EUsupergirl (@albawhitewolf) August 28, 2018 — Matt Kelly (@mk1969) August 28, 2018 In 2018, what does 'trust' mean, anyway? Trust in karma will disappear if you don't choke to death on a pint of Guinness. — Duncan Jones (@ManMadeMoon) August 28, 2018 Some took exception to his unusual grammar. His grammatical understanding is deplorable. He thinks he needs to use the subjunctive because of that "if". But in that case he should write "... if Brexit be not delivered". Here at The Independent, we believe that the British public deserves a final say on the Brexit deal.

In findings that will offer some relief to the prime minister, an ICM survey for the Guardian found that voters believe the Tories would be more likely to lose the next election if May was replaced by Johnson or five other potential successors. The Guardian view on Tory party entryism: a real and present rightwing danger | Editorial Read more May’s leadership has been questioned since she called a snap election in 2017 that led to the loss of the Tories’ Commons majority. But, asked by ICM if the Conservatives would have a better chance of winning the next election under Johnson, only 27% of respondents agreed, while 45% disagreed, giving Johnson a net score of -18. Voters believe a young and unheralded leader would give the Tories a better chance of winning the next election than other contenders Standfirst ... * -30% -20 -10 0 'Someone quite young and able, not currently in government' Ruth Davidson Boris Johnson Sajid Javid Jacob Rees-Mogg Jeremy Hunt Michael Gove Guardian Graphic | Source: Guardian/ICM poll. Question asked if chances of victory better or worse with each candidate - net figure shown Two other leading candidates – Michael Gove, the environment secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, the new foreign secretary – are seen as even worse choices. Just 7% of people believe each man would help the party’s chances, and their respective net ratings are -38 and -34. But 20% disagreed, giving this unspecified candidate a net score of +5. Rees-Mogg is seen by Tories as the person next best placed to help the Tories, but his net score is -8. However, in a leadership contest Johnson would be challenged to show that he could win over Labour voters. Conservatives and Labour level in the polls after one percentage point increase in Tory support Voting intention (change from ICM poll two weeks ago) % 0 10 20 30 40 Conservatives 40% (+1) Labour 40 (-) Lib Dems 8 (-) Ukip 6 (-) Green 2 (-1) Guardian Graphic | Source: Guardian/ICM poll ICM Unlimited interviewed a representative online sample of 2,021 adults aged 18 or over, between 17 and 19 August 2018.

The Conservative party is coming under intense pressure to decide whether to take disciplinary action against Boris Johnson following his continued refusal to apologise for his controversial descriptions of fully veiled Muslim women. A complaint about Johnson has been lodged with Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis, who is responsible for the party’s code of conduct which says that Tory MPs and other holders of public office should “foster respect and tolerance” in their work. Lewis has to decide whether to launch disciplinary proceedings following a day of intense criticism of Johnson, largely from the liberal wing of the party, after he used a column in the Telegraph to compare fully veiled women to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”. MP Dominic Grieve said the former foreign secretary was “not a fit and proper person” to lead the party and said he would quit the Tories if Johnson was elected leader. Writing in the Guardian, Baroness Warsi said his language had made “hate crime more likely”. Lewis had personally asked him on Tuesday to apologise but Johnson, who is on holiday, has refused to do so. The prime minister urged him to apologise and said she agreed with Lewis that Johnson should say sorry for his remarks, which she acknowledged had caused offence in the Muslim community. Friends of Johnson claimed that the row was politically motivated, and that other MPs, including the former chancellor Ken Clarke, had made similar remarks comparing the burqa to a bag without similar reproach. Warsi accused Johnson of making “hate crime more likely” with indefensible “dog whistle” references to Muslim women. One cabinet minister, Jeremy Wright, said Johnson should have chosen his language more carefully and that he was “sure on reflection” that he would want to reconsider the language he had used.

Theresa May has narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat over the Brexit bill after Conservative rebels accepted significant concessions from the government on the “meaningful vote” when it returns to the House of Lords next week. One MP in the meeting, which included former cabinet minister Justine Greening and Ed Vaizey said that May told the group it was “a matter of trust”. The Tory rebels, led by the former attorney general Dominic Grieve, later praised the government for “responding positively” to their concerns and claimed that they would be addressed when the EU withdrawal bill goes back to the Lords on Monday. A Downing Street source claimed that the prime minister had agreed only to ongoing discussions, raising the prospect of an angry showdown when a delegation of rebel MPs sits down with ministers to thrash out a deal. David Davis’s Brexit department cast further doubt over the rebels’ claims, issuing a statement which read: “We have not, and will not, agree to the House of Commons binding the Government’s hands in the negotiations.” MPs voted by 324 votes to 298 to back the government in rejecting an amendment passed by peers in April that would strengthen the hand of the Commons in the event of it rejecting the final Brexit deal. The proposals would mean that in the event of parliament rejecting the final Brexit deal, ministers would have seven days to set out a fresh approach. The Brexit secretary, David Davis, opened the debate by saying that the government could not accept anything that could undermine May, hinting that the amendments proposed by Lords and Tory rebels would hamper negotiations. The former cabinet minister Justine Greening, and George Freeman, Downing Street’s former policy guru, spoke in support of the rebel plans, heightening alarm among government ministers. In between discussions, he spoke to ministers on the front benches, including May, scribbling notes on a Commons paper. “We will now work with the government to get acceptable amendments tabled in the Lords to address this.” However, the Brexit minister Steve Baker appeared to rule out the government backing Grieve’s plans for parliament to take back control.

A Conservative MP who suggested a SNP politician commit suicide has today been transferred to the Department of Work and Pensions, where he’s seen as a natural fit for what they’re trying to accomplish. Ian Liddell-Grainger suggested suicide as an option for a SNP politician concerned about a Conservative ‘power grab’. ‘What we say in the House of Commons is all in good fun. It’s those Twitter trolls you’ve got to watch out for, they can be very hurtful,’ said one Tory MP. As a reward for his comment, Ian Liddell-Grainger will now be moved over to the DWP, where he’s expected to work closely with assessors. ‘Ian is a natural fit for us here in the DWP and we share a similar outlook on what people with problems should do. I’m sure he’ll become a shining star here,’ said Esther McVey, the Secretary for Work and Pensions. Mr Liddell-Grainger has welcomed the opportunity and says he’ll do his utmost to ensure the Conservative vision for Britain is carried out.

In a stark sign of the frustration among prominent Brexit supporters over the government’s handling of negotiations with the EU, Crispin Odey, a hedge fund manager who backed the Leave campaign, said he believed the environment secretary had the skills to make a success of Britain’s exit and appeal to voters. “We’ve got to have that self-confidence to make breaches,” he told the Observer. Michael has got lots of attributes that make him a non-traditional Tory. I don’t think May can carry Brexit through any more.” He added: “Italy has confronted the EU – they’ve said they will go ahead and be in breach of its rules. That’s how Elizabeth I would have been leading with this.” His backing for Gove risks reigniting the Tory debate about May’s leadership, with some Brexiters worried that Britain could end up being locked into a customs union with the EU that would prevent it pursuing an independent trade policy. In reality, few Tory MPs want an unpredictable leadership election which could further destabilise the party. A source close to Gove said the environment secretary was “fully supportive of the prime minister and will continue to be so”. He added: “He believes it’s vital we get behind our prime minister to deliver the Brexit 17.4 million people voted for.” Odey, who has also donated to Ukip in the past, said he believed that May was a gifted technocrat, but questioned her handling of Brexit. “The problem is, Theresa May is not good at hitting a moving ball, either. So there is no leadership.

A man who voted for the Conservative Party at yesterday’s local elections, as he has done in every election he’s voted in, is confused at why Britain seems to be becoming a worse place to live in. Michael O’Sullivan, 48, voted for all three of the Conservative candidates in his area and was pleased to see each of them retain their seats. ‘Now is not the time for any sort of progress whatsoever,’ beamed Michael. But Michael has also noted that Britain seems to have become a much worse place to live in over the last five-to-ten years. ‘Britain’s going to the dogs. My children are struggling to find decent jobs, it takes me two weeks to see my GP, I have no idea when I’ll be able to retire, Brexit has become a shambles, and everyone seems utterly miserable,’ Michael told us. However, Michael sees no correlation between who he votes for and the state of the nation. ‘It must be those bloody immigrants causing all this. Who else could it be?‘ asked the Conservative voter.

With Operation Save Amber finally derailed after two weeks of fire-fighting the former home secretary’s failing memory – by the weekend she couldn’t even remember what targets she was meant to have forgotten – the Tory party’s attention turned to Operation Save Face. With Amber Rudd out of a job, the prime minister has been left with no one else to take the blame for her hostile environment policy that caused the Windrush scandal. The transport secretary is just about the only minister who makes David Davis look quick-witted and is the last person who should be sent out in a crisis. Over in Downing Street, May let out a shriek as Grayling inadvertently tried to get her the sack as well. What it came down to was this: no one was really to blame for the Windrush debacle and Rudd was every bit as much a victim as the many thousands who had found themselves deprived of work and healthcare and threatened with deportation. She had just made one teeny-weeny little mistake. Sajid Javid disowns 'hostile environment' phrase in first outing as home secretary - Politics live Read more Shortly after appointing Sajid Javid as her new home secretary, it was May’s turn to face the cameras. The Guardian view on Amber Rudd’s resignation: now change the policy | Editorial Read more Several Labour MPs tried to put him right, but Javid wasn’t having any of it. He refused to recognise the term hostile environment. Compliant as in being as beastly as possible to anyone who looked foreign without being actively hostile.

These local elections will be the first electoral test for the main parties since last June’s general election. This is because they are already dominant in many of the places up for election this year, which limits the scope for further gains. Labour already has crushing majorities in many of the English cities where the elections are taking place; it already controls 27 of the 34 metropolitan boroughs holding elections, as well as 21 of the 32 London boroughs. In London, victories for Labour in traditional Tory strongholds such as Wandsworth and Westminster would be cause for celebration, but may be a stretch even given the Conservatives’ current troubles. Won’t a collapse of Ukip’s vote rescue the Tories? Outside the big cities, the collapse of Ukip will provide a rich harvest of seats for both main parties. If Theresa May retains the faith of the Brexiters, then the Conservatives should gain the bulk of Ukip’s seats. Will the politics change much after Thursday? Labour will extend its dominance in England’s big cities and among migrant and minority communities. The collapse of Ukip will reinforce the resurgence of two-party politics, which the Lib Dem recovery will be too feeble to challenge.

A Conservative council candidate in Watford, Darren Harrison, has been suspended after it was alleged that he was a supporter of the pan-European white supremacist organisation Generation Identity and associated with the English Defence League’s former leader Tommy Robinson. An investigation is under way.” Harrison was contesting a ward in a Tory-Liberal Democrat marginal. He had campaigned with James Cleverly, a Tory party vice-chairman, and featured on local party social media. His links with Generation Identity, an anti-Islam organisation with strong links to far-right groups across Europe, were alleged in an investigation by Vice News. Sellner was stopped at Stansted airport at the weekend when he planned to address the movement’s first conference in Sevenoaks, Kent. The event broke up early and some attendees were confronted by anti-fascist campaigners. Scuffles broke out and one protester was arrested. The suspension of Harrison comes at the end of a difficult week for the government. It has been dominated by its disastrous handling of the long-settled Windrush generation and the way the Home Office’s hostile environment has operated. In the London mayoral elections in 2016, the Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith’s campaign against Sadiq Khan was widely condemned for its anti-Muslim overtones.