Mid Wales MP to rebel against his own party and vote against PIP plans
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Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Tory membership falls under Badenoch
Membership of the Conservative Party has plummeted under Kemi Badenoch, figures reveal. The Tories have 8,000 fewer members than they did when Mrs Badenoch won the party leadership in November. The figures are likely to prompt concern among MPs that the party is failing to recover from the wipeout at the general election last year. At the time of the leadership election last year, the Tories had 131,000 members but this has since fallen to 123,000. The statistics, first reported by The Spectator and not denied by the party, are a further blow to Mrs Badenoch and come amid mounting questions about her future as party leader. The Tories have consistently lagged behind Reform UK in the polls since the beginning of the year. The party currently sits at just 17 per cent in opinion polls, behind Reform on 28 per cent and Labour on 22 per cent. A war of words between Mrs Badenoch and Mr Farage erupted last December when they accused each other of faking their parties' membership numbers. Mr Farage said that his party had more members than the Conservatives for the first time on Boxing Day last year. The Tory leader alleged that Reform's online membership tracker was 'not real' and claimed that analysis of their website showed that it automatically increased, regardless of the real number of members. Reform then invited several media outlets, including The Telegraph, to examine the system. The demonstration provided strong evidence that the ticker was based on verified membership data logged in real time through a third-party website. Mr Farage responded: 'We understand you are bitter, upset and angry that we are now the second biggest party in British politics, and that the Conservative brand is dying under your leadership. However, this [is] not an excuse to accuse us of committing fraud.' The Conservatives have also been hit by a series of defections of former MPs to Reform, most recently Sir Jake Berry, the former chairman of the party. The Tories suffered a bruising round of local elections in May, losing over 650 seats and control of all its councils amid a Reform surge. Their leader is likely to face another challenging set of May elections next year, when voters go to the polls to elect members of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd. Mrs Badenoch won the race to become Rishi Sunak's successor on the back of her 'Renewal 2030' campaign last November. She focused on returning the party to 'first principles' such as personal responsibility, freedom and family, rather than making concrete policy proposals. The approach has attracted criticism from some Tories, with over half of members saying they believed she was moving too slowly on policy development, according to a poll in April. Mrs Badenoch dismissed the claims, telling BBC Radio 4 that she was elected on such a strategy and adding: 'I'm not changing my mind or getting blown off course.' Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick, who came second to Mrs Badenoch in the race for the leadership and serves as her shadow justice secretary, continues to be the subject of speculation about a future tilt. But Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said in June that Mrs Badenoch will 'get better' as Tory leader like Margaret Thatcher did. Mrs Badenoch this week brought Sir James Cleverly, her former rival for the leadership, back onto her front bench in a move to boost party unity. As shadow housing secretary, Sir James will take on Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, making him one of the most senior frontbenchers. Last week, the former home secretary said that the Tories had to 'get out of this habit of cycling through leaders in the hope that ditching this one and picking a new one will make life easy for us'.
New Statesman
6 hours ago
- New Statesman
Tory modernisation has failed
We at the New Statesman are not neutral observers of the politics of this country. We may be critical of this Labour government when we think it deserves criticism. But we also do not want to see the country move to the populist right, under a Tory government or one led by Reform. This should be obvious: we are a magazine of the left, which wants to see progressive reform. And yet what happens in the Conservative Party and Reform matters because it often affects the political direction we are all forced to travel. One of the most important developments in British politics today, therefore, is the extraordinary implosion of the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch. Its scale is remarkable in its own right, but it also has profound implications for how Britain is governed. Think about how Labour behaves as it shifts its focus from the Conservatives to Reform ahead of the next general election. Without the collapse in support for the Tories – and the corresponding rise in the polls for Nigel Farage – would Starmer ever have uttered the words 'island of strangers'? The Prime Minister's mistake reveals a deeper truth: he and his government have yet to develop a strategy for how to deal with Farage The rub of Will Lloyd's cover story this week is simple: Kemi isn't working. For those who may (understandably) take some joy from this, Will's piece offers pause for thought. While it is absolutely the case that one of the reasons Badenoch is failing is her own limitations, there is no getting away from a deeper truth: she is also struggling because of nastier currents in society. Badenoch is not struggling because she is too right wing. Quite the opposite, in fact. For many of those agitating against her leadership, she represents the failed project of modernisation (as they would see it) of the David Cameron years. Today, the 'New Right' wants a far more Trump- (or Farage-) inflected conservatism than the one Badenoch is offering. Another reason the mood has soured is that a growing segment of the New Right has become dangerously fixated on questions of race, ethnicity and demographics. For some young Tories, it seems, Badenoch will never be British enough. This is a grim trend that we at the New Statesman feel a duty to expose. One final lesson from Will's piece is the continued failure of our political class to meet the challenges before it. As a friend put it to me recently, the problems the country now faces are at least as acute as any we have faced for decades, while the quality of our leaders seems to deteriorate from one parliament to the next. As our problems become bigger, our politicians get smaller. And so we enter a doom loop of hopelessness and despair, as one government after the next fails to rise to the challenge before it. Badenoch, in other words, may simply be a symptom of a deeper structural problem in Britain (and the West) today. Of course, Badenoch is not the only party leader in Westminster struggling in the polls. Andrew Marr delves into the disquiet bubbling just below the surface in Labour. As ever, his column is a must-read for those who want to understand the inner workings of the government. Meanwhile, Oliver Eagleton examines the lasting legacy of the war in Afghanistan, which continues to cast its shadow over British politics. Will Dunn looks at the extraordinary inertia of our governing class and Pippa Bailey casts her eye over Labour's (sensible) changes to sex education in schools – some good news at last! We have expanded Correspondence to reflect the huge number of letters we have received following last week's cover story about war crimes in Gaza. In the New Society, we have compiled our list of the best summer reads (including Don't Forget We're Here Forever by the New Statesman columnist Lamorna Ash), Finn McRedmond decamps to Chianti, and Michael Prodger reviews a book by the artist David Gentleman (he of those beautiful murals at London's Charing Cross Underground station). Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Before I sign off, I'd like to draw the reader's attention to one final piece in this week's magazine. Hannah Barnes reflects on the devastating death of her brother in a motorcycle crash. Life is precious and fragile. Perhaps it is so precious because it is so fragile. I hope that we at the New Statesman try to live it with vim and vigour while we can, bringing you life in all its pain and joy, glory and tragedy: a magazine reporting on our world as it is, while always having an eye on how we want it to be. Related This article appears in the 23 Jul 2025 issue of the New Statesman, Kemi Isn't Working
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Major update as 600,000 households owed up to £12k in PIP cash following errors – could you be owed cash?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HUNDREDS of thousands of benefit claimants could still be owed cash from the Government after a payment error. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has spent years reviewing the cases of people who could have been underpaid. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 You could be owed cash by the Government if your PIP was underpaid In a new update, it said an estimated 633,338 households receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are thought to have been affected. The Government department says it has reviewed 308,665 records in the time up to March this year. A huge £250million has already been paid out to PIP claimants who were missing cash. But that leaves a whopping 324,673 cases still expected to be reviewed. The review was launched after a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019 that changed the way the DWP defines 'social support' in one of the assessed PIP categories. Dubbed the "MM judgement", the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support. It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount. The DWP began its review in 2021, looking at PIP claims since April 6, 2016 to check whether claimants may be eligible for more support. By March last year it had reviewed 219,080 cases. The latest figures suggest it's managed to get through a further 89,585 cases in the last year. Changes to UC & PIP payments in full as Labour reveals bruising welfare bill concessions in bid to quell rebellion People who are found to have been underpaid have been receiving back payments. The amount each person receives will vary but the average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim. The Sun previously reported on one couple on PIP who had been left "shell-shocked" after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments. What is PIP? HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP). The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £187.45 a week. PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66. Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around - or both- for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you're terminally ill with less than 12 months to live). You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit. PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you. You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £29.20 or £77.05. While on the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £73.90 or £110.40 - and you could get both elements, so up to £184.30 in total. You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment. Make a claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222. Who is affected? There are two elements to PIP - a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part if you need help with getting around. Claimants eligible for each element are then awarded a standard or enhanced allowance. You can get the daily living part of PIP if you struggle to carry out "daily living activities" such as bathing or preparing food. Claimants are scored on how able they are to do each task. This determines whether you're able to receive the PIP payment, and if you have a high score you're more likely to be awarded the enhanced payment. The standard allowance for the daily living part of PIP is currently worth £73.90 a week and the enhanced rate is worth £110.40 a week. The 2019 Supreme Court judgment decided that PIP claimants could receive additional points for one of the activities scored - socialising and being around other people. It means that people may have not been entitled to the daily living element of PIP when they were actually entitled to it. Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have actually received the enhanced rate. The DWP is now reviewing the cases of people who might have been affected by this. However it won't review your claim if: The enhanced rate of the daily living part of PIP has been awarded continuously since April 6, 2016 A Tribunal made a decision on a claim since April 6, 2016 A decision not to award PIP was made before April 6, 2016. New PIP errors The DWP also revealed it had discovered two "new" errors in the last year relating to PIP payments. This includes PIP claimants without a National Insurance number not having their application progressed correctly – despite an NI number not being needed for a claim. Some 455 cases of this were reviewed in the last year with £500,000 paid out. The DWP has also paid out £13million to Scottish PIP claimants who mistakenly saw a "loss of entitlement" when they tried moving over to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP). Almost 4,700 records of this have been reviewed, with another 176 cases still to be looked at. How do I appeal a PIP decision? If you've been contacted by the DWP or think you are affected by the MM judgement, you'll need to appeal your PIP decision. If you think a PIP decision was wrong, you can challenge it. If you've been contacted by the DWP or think your PIP payments may be affected by the MM judgment, you should ask for a "mandatory reconsideration notice". This is where the DWP looks at your claim decision again. If you are still unhappy with this outcome, you can then appeal to an independent tribunal. You must send your appeal form within one month of the date shown on the mandatory reconsideration notice. Be aware that it usually takes up to six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal. Before it gets to the tribunal, the DWP can make a revision to the original claim. If you're unhappy with the decision you get from the tribunal, you may also be able to get the decision cancelled - known as "set aside". You'll be told how to do this at the time. Another option is to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think the tribunal wasn't able to give you proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts, or if it failed to apply the law properly. Full details about challenging your PIP decisions can be found on
