logo
Former Kemi Badenoch ally expelled from Conservative Party

Former Kemi Badenoch ally expelled from Conservative Party

Independent5 days ago
Former Conservative MP Tom Hunt has been expelled from the party after an investigation into a disciplinary matter.
The party announced the decision after a long investigation into the former Ipswich MP, who lost his seat in last year's general election.
A spokesman for the party said: 'Tom Hunt has been expelled from the Conservative Party following a complaints process. This process is rightly confidential.'
However, Mr Hunt has said that he is 'disappointed' about the decision and indicated that he now intends to appeal.
He told The Independent: 'I am deeply disappointed by this provisional decision. I have strongly refuted the complaint from the start and continue to do so. I am currently seeking legal advice so it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage. It's a confidential process."
During his time as an MP, Mr Hunt was deputy chairman of the influential right-wing Common Sense Group of Tory MPs.
In his role, he had pushed for the Rwanda deportation scheme, greater immigration control, leaving the European Convention of Human Rights and a tougher stance on so called culture war issues.
His name had been mentioned in speculation over defectors to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, but he had remained loyal to the Tories.
He was a key supporter of Kemi Badenoch when she first ran for the party leadership in 2022.
At the time he wrote for The Ipswich Star: 'I think she is genuinely courageous. Her delivery at the dispatch box is powerful. She speaks her mind, which is refreshing. She is passionate and patriotic, and I think she can excite and inspire the nation.'
However, he since changed his mind and backed Ms Badenoch's main rival Robert Jenrick in the contest last year before she won last year.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Reform's bacon and egg offensive to woo business
Reform's bacon and egg offensive to woo business

Daily Mail​

timea minute ago

  • Daily Mail​

Reform's bacon and egg offensive to woo business

Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice is conducting a 'bacon and eggs' charm offensive to woo British businesses ahead of the next election. Tice told The Mail on Sunday that he and other senior party figures, including leader Nigel Farage, had been meeting 'dozens and dozens and dozens' of bosses for breakfast meetings. He said they included chief executives, finance chiefs, chairmen and top lobbyists at FTSE 100 and FTSE 250-listed firms, as well as those at private and foreign-owned companies. It echoes the 'smoked salmon and scrambled eggs' charm offensive by Labour ahead of the last General Election. Tice, pictured with Farage, said the 'penny dropped' for many firms about Reform's potential to form the next government after its landslide success in May's local elections and taking a 14-point lead in the latest national opinion poll. And he dismissed concerns raised by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) about whether Reform's sums added up, dismissing the respected economic think-tank as 'the institute for feeble studies'. Tice said: 'Lots of companies recognise we are a serious contender to be the next government, whenever the election is. They are taking it seriously, so want to meet me and understand where we're coming from on a variety of big issues. 'Whether you want to call it the bacon and eggs offensive or whatever, a series of breakfasts and other meetings are going on, and it is going well, and we're doing quite a lot of it.' A well-placed City source who alerted The Mail on Sunday to the meetings suggested there was some scepticism among business leaders about Reform's plans. Firms contacted by this newspaper were tight-lipped over whether they had met Tice. One FTSE 100 director, who asked not to be named, said he had 'not seen him' as part of the drive, but had once bumped into the politician and 'couldn't find anything we could agree on'. However, Tice said the reaction had been positive, particularly relating to plans to scrap the net zero carbon climate goal. 'We understand the language of business,' he said. 'I was chief executive of a billion-pound multinational listed company. Nigel's a businessman. We understand what it takes to save the British economy. 'We are talking about our dead seriousness about scrapping net zero and that is greeted with almost universal joy on a private basis. Privately, they all admit it's bonkers, it's costing them a fortune, it's making them uncompetitive.' Tice said Reform had told oil and gas companies to prepare applications for drilling licences in the North Sea 'so they can be checked and pre-approved before an election and rubber-stamped within a matter of days' if Reform were to win. He added: 'We're not mucking about. We're very clear that things like net zero, ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) – it's all for the birds. It all goes and we will be pretty aggressive on that and anyone who tries to get in our way.' The IFS's analysis of Reform's tax-cutting plans found that raising an individual's annual tax threshold from £12,570 to £20,000 and other measures could cost up to £80 billion a year, and that the party's strategy involved large, unspecified cuts to public services. And Simon French, chief economist at investment bank Panmure Liberum, has warned that Britain could face an 'immediate and violent' sterling crisis if Farage wins power. But Tice dismissed these, calling the IFS estimate a 'back-of-the-fag-packet guess' saying: 'We expect the enemy to do that.' Asked whether business leaders were convinced by Reform's plans, Tice said: 'They get it.' He added that he and Farage were 'probably two of the most successful financial, economic, businesslike MPs they've ever met'.

Boom time for Barrow as Naval orders flood in
Boom time for Barrow as Naval orders flood in

Daily Mail​

timea minute ago

  • Daily Mail​

Boom time for Barrow as Naval orders flood in

HMS Agamemnon sits in the open dock as workers add finishing touches to the latest Astute Class submarine to roll off production lines at Barrow-in-Furness. Completion of the sixth of a seven-boat order begun in 2001 might, in years gone by, have been followed by the town's shipyard facing a contract drought and winding down. But its fortunes are now different – with a full order book for decades to come, bringing investment and prosperity to an isolated corner of Cumbria. Rising fears of global conflict mean billions of pounds of orders from the Royal Navy for shipyard owner BAE Systems. Four Dreadnought submarines will eventually replace the Vanguard class vessels that carry Britain's Trident nuclear weapons. The Government has also placed an order for up to 12 nuclear-powered Aukus attack submarines. As a result, BAE is upping its workforce at Barrow-in-Furness from 11,000 to 17,000 – on a par with the shipyard's historic peak – and is near-trebling its apprenticeship programme to 1,000. And a £220 million investment in infrastructure over the next ten years, awarded by Rishi Sunak's government, is seeing benefits with improvements to the A595, Barrow's link to the M6. Barrow's population of 67,000 has grown for the first time in nearly 40 years, with newcomers attracted by the stunning coastline and Lake District. On a recent visit accompanied by Defence Secretary John Healey, Prime Minister Keir Starmer described its renaissance as a 'blueprint for the nation'. Leading BAE's training at its £25 million submarine Academy For Skills And Knowledge, which opened in 2018, is Jim Perks. The former submarine captain said: 'We've known for years the Government's requirement for submarines is growing. We needed to increase our workforce dramatically, increase the size of the yard and improve the supply chain.' He said the company adopted a 'grow your own' approach, recruiting via the academy, which is expanding with a high-tech training hub in the Debenhams store, which closed in 2021. Perks said the hub would allow apprentices to learn techniques on simulators so they can be 'up to speed' before joining teams on real boats. Recruits are a 60:40 split of trade versus degree apprentices, and demand is high with 4,000 applicants in 2024 and 6,000 this year. While there is a tradition of generations of Barrow families working at the shipyard, Perks, who is also recruiting more women, said: 'Some of the most complex machines in the world are made here by Barrovians, but we want to look further afield too.' Carrie, 20, a trainee electrician following in her father's footsteps, said: 'I wanted a hands-on job and was always interested in engineering and carrying on the tradition.' Olivia, 19, training to be a joiner, said: 'I think it's good for the town as there's not been too much to offer around here. It's particularly helpful for young people. It's a good start in life with job security.' Local traders are starting to see an upturn after years of decline. Ashley Holroyd, 33, owner of Coffee D'Ash, opened a branch next to the hub last year having previously sold his drinks from a trailer. He now employs eight staff, and said: 'I came to Barrow in 2017 when the shops were closing and footfall was close to dead.' Pointing to the smartened-up town centre, he added that it now 'feels like a town on the up'. BAE's investment in Barrow is mirrored on the Clyde in Glasgow, where it is building eight Royal Navy Type 26 destroyers. The firm has invested £12 million in an academy – opened by Princess Anne in April – to train 300 recruits annually for the sites at Govan and Scotstoun. Referring to the threat posed by Russia, vice-admiral Sir Simon Lister, managing director of BAE's Navy Ships business, who spent over 40 years in the Royal Navy and was briefly British Naval attache in Moscow, said: 'Over 48 years in the Armed Forces and in the military and defence industry, I'd say this is the most tense and challenging time for us all.' BAE has also invested £300 million in production facilities at Glasgow to cut the time it takes to build each £1 billion destroyer by a third, from 98 months to 66. This includes opening a giant shipbuilding hall, allowing two warships to be assembled at once under cover rather than being built in sections before being joined together under scaffolding. Among apprentices at BAE's Glasgow academy is Anna, 30. She said almost 'every male member of my family' had worked in the yards or on ships. She added: 'My dad served in the Royal Navy, my grandad was in the Royal Naval Reserve and my great grandad, Edward McKnight, was a chief engineer for the Royal Navy. I'm following in my family's footsteps.'

Sir Keir Starmer will meet Donald Trump at his Scottish golf course to discuss how to end starvation of kids in Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer will meet Donald Trump at his Scottish golf course to discuss how to end starvation of kids in Gaza

The Sun

timea minute ago

  • The Sun

Sir Keir Starmer will meet Donald Trump at his Scottish golf course to discuss how to end starvation of kids in Gaza

SIR Keir Starmer will meet Donald Trump at his Scottish golf course tomorrow — to discuss how to end the starvation of kids in Gaza. The US President teed off his five-day visit with a round at his Turnberry resort, accompanied by a massive security team. 6 6 6 The PM will fly up to see him tomorrow to hold wide-ranging talks — and could raise calls to recognise an independent Palestinian state. The pair will discuss the suffering of people in Gaza and how to get aid and food trucks back into the region. Sir Keir will also press Mr Trump on what can be done to restart Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks after their collapse late last week. The US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams, with Trump claiming Hamas 'didn't really want to make a deal'. Sir Keir is under massive pressure from Labour MPs to follow France and immediately recognise Palestine as a state. But the PM has rejected the move and insisted it can only be done with allies as part of a concrete peace process. A No10 source said: 'Sir Keir and the President will cover a wide range of topics in Scotland, building on strong links between our nations. 'From putting more money in working people's pockets through the UK-US trade deal, to discussing steps to end the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, everything this government does is delivering security for the British people.' Britain is drawing up plans to airdrop aid into Gaza as the famine there worsens. Confirming the plan, the PM tweeted yesterday: 'Israel must allow aid in over land to end starvation in Gaza. The situation is desperate. First look at Donald Trump's armoured motorcade 'the Beast' as President whisked off to Turnberry 'We are working with Jordan to get aid in. And we are accelerating efforts to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment.' Yesterday, the PM spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss plans for a new peace process. After touching down on Friday, Mr Trump warned that mass immigration was 'killing Europe'. He added: 'You've got to stop this horrible invasion.' Some 5,000 cops from across the UK have been drafted in to watch over the course, beach and perimeter of Turnberry. 6 6 6 Police boats are patrolling the sea while officers on quad bikes keep an eye on the beach. And specialist firearms officers with high-powered sniper rifles look down on the course from a scaffold platform and the hotel roof. Mr Trump's armoured presidential car, The Beast, yesterday left the hotel at around 9.45am. He was then escorted around the course in his golf buggy by 24 others filled with staff and Secret Service agents. FOOD AIRDROP FEAR AN AID agency has labelled UK plans to airdrop food into besieged Gaza as a 'distraction and smokescreen'. The United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said the move would not reverse worsening starvation and could harm civilians in the crush to reach crates on the ground. Boss Philippe Lazzarini urged: 'Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' The UK government says it is working with Jordan on plans to airdrop aid and evacuate children needing medical assistance. On Friday, Gaza's health ministry, run by terrorist ruling party Hamas, claimed nine people had died in 24 hours from malnutrition. It said this brought the total killed by starvation since Israel's military action to 123, including 84 children. Israel said on Friday it will allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store