Latest news with #CCHQ
Spectator
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Kemi: Farage is a ‘bullshitter'
What a week it has been in British politics. After the welfare rebellion on Tuesday and then the shambles of PMQs on Wednesday, life in CCHQ must now seem a little easier. This week, it was the turn of Kemi Badenoch to address the Conservative Group dinner at the Local Government Association annual conference. And the Tory leader delivered a rather risqué line about Reform, according to a recording sent to Mr S. Badenoch told her audience on Wednesday that: Sometimes it's really challenging when we have opponents to the left and the right of us promising people things that we know that they can never do. And a man sent me an email the other day. He said that 'There are liars in politics and that there are bullshitters.' And you need to understand the difference between a liar and a bullshitter. And a liar will tell you something that is definitely not true. That's where Keir Starmer fits in. Every week at PMQs, he stands up and talks about how business confidence is great, the economy is going gangbusters and all is fine. Nigel Farage is a bullshitter, a bullshitter. The difference between liars and bullshit is that bullshitters don't care whether what they're saying is true or false. They just say whatever. We are not liars and we don't do bullshit. We tell the truth. That is what my leadership is about. Talk about blue-on-blue language – but the attendant crowd roared with laughter and lapped it up. Badenoch went on to say that 'Reform are not a right wing party. They are not on the centre-right. They want more nationalisation. They want more benefits. They want to lift the two child benefit cap.' Looks like any talk of a deal is out while Kemi is around…
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The quiet man who could rescue the Tories
Kemi Badenoch's appointment of Lord McInnes of Kilwinning as the chief executive of Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) is, in the minds of senior Tories, unarguably one of the most important she's made. Known to everyone – friend and foe alike – as plain 'Mark', he is to be the full-time boss of the party structure, charged with everything and anything to do with rebuilding the Tories from his base at what many still call Conservative Central Office. The peer, ennobled by David Cameron in the former Tory prime minister's resignation honours list, is a former director of the Conservatives in Scotland. He also played a key role in the 2014 independence referendum when he helped assemble the all-party Better Together campaign team. Although a hugely controversial move – which saw Gordon Brown initially refuse to share a platform with Tories – Lord McInnes and the late lamented Alastair Darling helped weld an effective fighting force of Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives to defeat the SNP's plans to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom. Although the nationalists' 'Yes' campaign was very well funded, Better Together won the referendum vote by more than 10 per cent, prompting Alex Salmond's resignation as the SNP leader and Scottish first minister. 'Steeped in Conservative Party politics' Lord McInnes was also responsible for the backing he gave Ruth Davidson, as Scottish Conservative leader, in her successful bid to revitalise the largely moribund Tory party north of the border. Under her leadership, it became the official opposition to the SNP in the Scottish Parliament and doubled its number of MPs at Westminster. A former Tory councillor on Edinburgh city council, Lord McInnes is 'steeped in Conservative Party politics' and was said to have always kept his head when 'others around him are losing theirs'. The challenge is formidable. Even his allies believe that there is 'a paucity of talent' within Conservative ranks, but they also reckon that Lord McInnes is at least a 'grown-up and well respected politician'. It's clear that his main task on assuming office will be to prepare the party to take the fight to Reform UK, whose leader, Nigel Farage, aims to replace the Conservatives at every level of government. The latest opinion polls suggest Reform will hammer both Labour and the Tories at the next general election. But in that task, he at least knows what it's like to have the odds so heavily stacked against him. For most of his senior political life he has been up against an at times rampant SNP. It's true that the number of Tory MPs has slumped to five, but it is still the principal opposition party to the SNP in the Scottish Parliament. And while a long time backroom boy who seldom likes to see himself quoted in newspaper columns or seen on television programmes, and who has never engaged himself in personality politics, he's very aware of the strengths and weaknesses of those who do. Throughout almost the entirety of his time in the higher reaches of political life, he pitted himself and his beliefs against Salmond, whose nickname might have been Wee Eck, but who was also a great showman and no slouch when it came to a love of political stardom. In that, I'm sure that Lord McInnes will see a clear resemblance, as others do (including yours truly), with Nigel Farage. But just as he played a major part in the defeat of Salmond, so there will be hopes in Tory circles that he can do the same with Reform. Assiduous in studying results of research But in that mammoth task, he'll leave the personality game to Mrs Badenoch and her front bench team. There will be no histrionics. Instead, his many admirers tell of a politician whose every action and reaction will be evidence-based. He is assiduous in studying the results of research, surveys and opinion polls, and with opponents what he's looking for is the holes in their armour. In truth he has one helluva job to do, with a massively depleted party – depleted at every level, disastrously so in local councils, from whence normally springs a party's strength nationwide. As one admirer who accepts the onerous nature of his task commented: 'He's like the captain of the Titanic taking the helm after his ship has struck the iceberg.' But what there hasn't been is any doubt is Mrs Badenoch's appointment of this quiet man from Ayrshire. She's devoted a great deal of time and energy in her selection – she personally headhunted him.
Spectator
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
The British right is embracing direct action
First, it was Robert Jenrick tackling fare dodgers. Then it was Gareth Davies pursuing a thief. You might be forgiven for thinking that copies of Marvel's Justice League were circulating in Portcullis House. But among elements of the British right there is a renewed appreciation of the benefits of direct action. Shut out of office until at least 2029, Tory and Reform politicians are finding ways to channel their frustrations into novel, low-cost, forms of protest. Nigel Farage's aides have embraced humorous stunts such as beaming their membership numbers onto CCHQ and handing out blank books to journalists titled Highlights from my first 100 days, by Kemi Badenoch. Others, like Jenrick, try to think of new ways to land messages. He is vox-popping voters and leading a rally against China's super-embassy. Badenoch has also sought to position herself as the leader of the family farm tax protests, speaking as the keynote speaker at the London rally in November. Lawrence Newport's 'Looking for Growth' group has meanwhile taken to filming themselves cleaning up graffiti on the London Underground. This tactic is not completely new. At the Margaret Thatcher conference in Buckingham in March, older attendees talked fondly of 'Operation Pony Express'. This was a reference to the 1976 Grunwick strike, in which postal workers refused to handle deliveries for a photographic laboratory at which there was a strike. Volunteers – such as members of the newly-formed Freedom Association – wanted to help the business survive the strike, to strike a blow against trade union power. They smuggled mail out of the Grunwick depot and transferred thousands of processed films to plain envelopes to prevent the unions from identifying them. The orders were then reposted in hundreds of post boxes across the country, to keep the mail-order business going. It served as a way of energising activists and giving heart to a cause. Good politicians recognise that the legislative process is just one route to achieve their ends. But in the internet age, there is an obvious incentive to produce moments or clips of the unusual or subversive, which are more likely to be shared by fans and critics. A right wing MP is unlikely to secure a legislative triumph in the current House of Commons; a viral clip online is a much more realistic goal. Elite media gatekeepers no longer serve as a block on ambition. The use of such tactics could be seen as an indictment of impotence. Yet, in a highly cynical age, there is a merit to the 'show, don't tell' approach to politics. It is not enough, now, for politicians to simply claim to care about crime; they need to demonstrate it too. Some stunts, like Farage's book, are purely humorous; others, such as LfG's graffiti clean, aim to shame Transport for London into stepping up their game. At a time when a powerful sense of hopelessness is gripping much of the right, such case studies offer a way of empowering individuals and cheering their supporters. Expect to see more non-violent direct action in future.
Telegraph
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Kemi has a point about the triple lock on pensions
Conscious that her party are heading for a drubbing at Thursday's local elections, Kemi Badenoch has been giving a series of radio and television interviews. Since the Tory leader's approval ratings suggest that the more voters see of her, the more they dislike her, this might not be as canny as CCHQ thinks. Nonetheless, this unusual surfacing from the habitually interview-averse Badenoch has forced her to do something she usually avoids: comment on policy. Last night, on Iain Dale's LBC show, she was asked if the Tories remain committed to the triple lock: the system that ensures the state pension rises each year be either the inflation rate, average earnings, or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest. Her response raised eyebrows. It has 'always been the Conservative policy to have the triple lock', she explained. She has 'not changed that', since when she changes policy she has ' a big speech'. No such oratorical delight is currently due. But the Tories are looking 'across the board at so many things' – taxes, pensions, their own navels – and once that is done she will 'say what the policy is going to be'. Studiously ambiguous, I would argue, with room for a future reckoning. Back in January, Badenoch suggested that she was looking at means-testing the triple lock and then backtracked when Labour suggested she was betraying pensioners (an area in which the Chancellor has proved herself an expert). Coming in local election week, Badenoch's political opponents have every incentive to suggest the Tory leader is shafting the grey vote. Over 65s were the only age group with which the Conservatives led at last year's election, and pensioners are far more likely to turn out. If they stay at home, furious about Badenoch's comments, an already bad night could be transformed into an epochal shellacking. Yet if the Conservatives' ongoing policy renewal results in a pledge to scrap the triple lock, it would be the bravest and most consequential choice of Badenoch's leadership so far. There will never be a right time to bite the bullet on the triple lock (even if the week of the local election might be the worst). But few politicians have reckoned with the reality that its ongoing funding will bankrupt Britain. The annual cost of the state pension was £124.3 billion in 2023 to 2024 – almost two and a half times what we spent in the same year on defence, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Without the triple lock, pensions would only have been upgraded with inflation and would cost £10 billion less. Compared to pensions only rising in line with average earnings, the Institute for Fiscal Studies projects the triple lock could cause the state pension to cost an additional £5 to £45 billion by 2050. Unless Angela Rayner's one-woman quest to carpet the countryside in new builds really does unleash a hitherto-unachievable growth bonanza, this pledge is unaffordable, and must be dropped. Britain is becoming older, fatter, and sicker. The welfare state's costs are rising inexorably. When the state pension was introduced in 1908, those 65 or older made up only five per cent of the population. By the 2040s, it will be five times that. Without radical action, those in control of the levers of the economy will mandate ever-higher taxes, ever-higher spending, and ever-higher immigration to make up for our shortage in productive young people. Badenoch might have a point – but for now, she'd do well to keep it to herself.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kemi has a point about the triple lock on pensions
Conscious that her party are heading for a drubbing at Thursday's local elections, Kemi Badenoch has been giving a series of radio and television interviews. Since the Tory leader's approval ratings suggest that the more voters see of her, the more they dislike her, this might not be as canny as CCHQ thinks. Nonetheless, this unusual surfacing from the habitually interview-averse Badenoch has forced her to do something she usually avoids: comment on policy. Last night, on Iain Dale's LBC show, she was asked if the Tories remain committed to the triple lock: the system that ensures the state pension rises each year be either the inflation rate, average earnings, or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest. Her response raised eyebrows. It has 'always been the Conservative policy to have the triple lock', she explained. She has 'not changed that', since when she changes policy she has ' a big speech'. No such oratorical delight is currently due. But the Tories are looking 'across the board at so many things' – taxes, pensions, their own navels – and once that is done she will 'say what the policy is going to be'. Studiously ambiguous, I would argue, with room for a future reckoning. Back in January, Badenoch suggested that she was looking at means-testing the triple lock and then backtracked when Labour suggested she was betraying pensioners (an area in which the Chancellor has proved herself an expert). Coming in local election week, Badenoch's political opponents have every incentive to suggest the Tory leader is shafting the grey vote. Over 65s were the only age group with which the Conservatives led at last year's election, and pensioners are far more likely to turn out. If they stay at home, furious about Badenoch's comments, an already bad night could be transformed into an epochal shellacking. Yet if the Conservatives' ongoing policy renewal results in a pledge to scrap the triple lock, it would be the bravest and most consequential choice of Badenoch's leadership so far. There will never be a right time to bite the bullet on the triple lock (even if the week of the local election might be the worst). But few politicians have reckoned with the reality that its ongoing funding will bankrupt Britain. The annual cost of the state pension was £124.3 billion in 2023 to 2024 – almost two and a half times what we spent in the same year on defence, despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Without the triple lock, pensions would only have been upgraded with inflation and would cost £10 billion less. Compared to pensions only rising in line with average earnings, the Institute for Fiscal Studies projects the triple lock could cause the state pension to cost an additional £5 to £45 billion by 2050. Unless Angela Rayner's one-woman quest to carpet the countryside in new builds really does unleash a hitherto-unachievable growth bonanza, this pledge is unaffordable, and must be dropped. Britain is becoming older, fatter, and sicker. The welfare state's costs are rising inexorably. When the state pension was introduced in 1908, those 65 or older made up only five per cent of the population. By the 2040s, it will be five times that. Without radical action, those in control of the levers of the economy will mandate ever-higher taxes, ever-higher spending, and ever-higher immigration to make up for our shortage in productive young people. Badenoch might have a point – but for now, she'd do well to keep it to herself. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
