Kemi Badenoch faces backlash after comments on ‘excessive’ maternity pay – as it happened | Politics

Key occasions

Early night abstract

A survey as we speak confirmed that she is the clear favorite amongst social gathering members (see 1.45pm). However Robert Jenrick is the bookmakers’ favorite, as a result of it’s assumed that Badenoch won’t get sufficient assist from MPs to make the ultimate two.

Voting within the Commons on Wednesday 9 October and Thursday 10 October will resolve the 2 candidates on the poll for social gathering members, and Badenoch, who had 28 votes within the final poll, must win the assist of a minimum of 13 extra by 10 October, as a result of with 41, you’re assured a slot within the remaining two. (There are solely 121 Tory MPs, so the final three candidates can’t all get 41 or extra.)

Badenoch began the day by delivering hard-hitting message on Israel (absolutely supporting the assault on Lebanon – see 8.40am) and on immigrants (implying they need to be excluded if they aren’t ready to like Britain – see 8.50am).

However then she appeared to counsel to an interviewer that maternity pay was extreme and, because the backlash mounted, she resorted to issuing two successive statements claiming she had been misreported. Within the second assertion, by way of video, she claimed she was not fazed by the row – however she regarded as if she was. (See 5.32pm.)

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Up to date at 13.38 EDT

Sunak urges Tories to desert backbiting and squabbling

Rishi Sunak ended his speech to Tory members with an attraction for unity.

I do need to end with one remaining ask of all of you. Whoever wins this contest, give them your backing.

We should finish the division, the backbiting, the squabbling. We mustn’t nurse previous grudges, however construct new friendships.

We should all the time bear in mind what unites us, quite than obsessing about the place we’d differ.

As a result of we once we flip in on ourselves, we lose, and the nation finally ends up with a Labour authorities.

And also you don’t want someone else to purchase you a pair of designer glasses to see that the shine is coming off Keir Starmer already.

Folks can see Labour weren’t frank with them on the election, that Labour nonetheless consider that Whitehall is aware of higher than you, that Labour are making the fallacious decisions for our nation.

But when we Conservatives are going to get again into workplace in order that we are able to as soon as extra ship for the British individuals, then our new chief goes to wish your assist.

Sunak’s feedback mirror the truth that backbiting and feuding have been a continuing theme of Tory politics lately. YouGov polling out as we speak says voters assume the social gathering is preoccupied with itself (see 1.04pm). However arguably, Sunak suffered much less from infighting than different leaders. He was the one PM of the final 4 who was not compelled out by Tory MPs.

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Up to date at 13.09 EDT

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Up to date at 12.58 EDT

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Up to date at 12.58 EDT

Sunak defends Tory file in authorities, however says: ‘We didn’t get all the pieces proper in workplace’

Rishi Sunak advised social gathering members in his speech at a reception that there was an actual buzz across the convention. He began with a joke:

It’s such a scorching ticket, I’m suprised Keir Starmer has not requested somebody to purchase him one.

He mentioned he wouldn’t be making a correct speech, as a result of he wished to go away the convention to the management candidates. However he mentioned he wished to thank members for what they do, and he apologised for the defeat.

I’m solely sorry that your efforts couldn’t ship the outcomes you deserved.

“It wasn’t you,” a member shouted again. And he mentioned the social gathering needed to be taught the teachings from defeat:

We didn’t get all the pieces proper in workplace. No authorities ever does, and we do now to mirror on that, however we should always not overlook what we have now achieved these final 14 years. We should not and I do know we won’t let Keir Starmer rewrite historical past.

Sunak mentioned the final Labour authorities left a word saying it ran out of cash. He mentioned he restored the economic system to stability, and introduced inflation again heading in the right direction.

Socalists all the time run out of different individuals’s cash to spend, he mentioned. He mentioned that was one thing Lord Alli was already discovering out.

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Up to date at 12.57 EDT

How Badenoch is making an attempt to quell maternity pay controversy

Kemi Badenoch has launched a video claiming that she has been misrepresented. In it, she additionally says that she is just not rattled by the controversy over her maternity pay feedback – though some might conclude she has launched the video exactly as a result of she is rattled.

Within the video, she claims to be “actually happy” about how her day has gone. She goes on to say there was “a number of misrepresenation about my views on immigration”.

She mentioned:

I’ve very sturdy views on immigration. I set them out in my Telegraph piece as we speak.

However what I would like individuals to know is that we have to win again belief. We have to win again belief, quite than simply throwing coverage on the market.

This appeared to be a response to Robert Jenrick saying her plan for immigration wouldn’t work. (See 9.27am.) She added:

And I feel individuals are shedding belief as a result of a lot of politics is damaged.

As an example, there’s a brand new factor that I’ve been seeing on social media about maternity pay and that I don’t need that. In fact that’s ridiculous. In fact I feel maternity pay is essential.

However I used to be answering a unique query. A journalist interrupts, and folks assume that they’ve bought a gotcha.

And people kinds of issues don’t faze me. Folks can ask me all of the robust questions they need. I’ll reply them. We have to ensure that we’re sincere and that we’re not being misrepresented about our view on immigration or maternity pay or no matter.

You possibly can watch Badenoch’s change with Kate McCann on Occasions Radio about maternity pay at 12.42pm. Though Badenoch was eager to steer the dialog on to the subject of regulation, she was instantly requested about maternity pay a number of instances by McCann and used the phrase “extreme” in that context. McCann even requested her to verify that that that was what she was saying. Badenoch may have clarified at that time within the interview. However she didn’t, and as a substitute talked about how issues had “gone too far” by way of regulation. (Statutory maternity pay is, by definition, set by regulation.)

Politicians usually must make clear what they are saying in interviews, and customarily individuals are fairly understanding when that occurs. However this try by Badenoch to row again is just not notably convincing as a result of Badenoch doesn’t appear to indicate any appreciation of the truth that she herself contributed to this misunderstanding (if that’s what it was). As a substitute – as normal – her default defence technique was to demonise the media.

Lately, Badenoch talked about how she by no means made gaffes. She advised a podcast:

I by no means have gaffes, or apologising for one thing that I mentioned, [saying] ‘Oh, that’s not what I meant.’ I by no means need to make clear, as a result of I feel very fastidiously about what I say.

That boast hasn’t aged effectively.

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Up to date at 12.45 EDT

Labour has additionally put out an announcement attacking Kemi Badenoch for her feedback about maternity pay. Ellie Reeves, the Labour social gathering chair, mentioned:

It’s symptomatic of the Conservative social gathering as an entire that that is the form of intervention that considered one of their management contenders is popping out with. The Tories and their continuity candidates are fully unserious in regards to the issues they inflicted on the nation over 14 years of chaos and decline.

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Rishi Sunak is just not scheduled to present a speech throughout the principle convention proceedings, regardless that he’s nonetheless social gathering chief. However he’s internet hosting what’s described as a thank-you reception for social gathering members at 5pm, and we’re advised he can be giving a speech at that occasion, at about 5.20pm. Will probably be his most important contribution on the convention.

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Up to date at 11.39 EDT

Tory chair Richard Fuller says evaluate of election ought to result in members getting extra say over insurance policies and candidates

Richard Fuller, the Conservative chair, advised the convention in his speech that he has ordered a evaluate of what occurred on the election that can be extra complete than earlier ones. He mentioned it might give social gathering members extra say over coverage making and candidate choice

Describing how it might function, he mentioned:

The evaluate can be empowered to make suggestions for reform in all features of our social gathering and can then oversee the implementation of these suggestions with actual accountability on the social gathering management to ship.

The evaluate should equip the social gathering to struggle and win elections in any respect ranges.

It should modernise our campaigning.

It should present the coaching wanted to upskill our activists.

It should broaden the voice of members in coverage making.

It should improve the rights of native social gathering members within the candidate choice course of.

And far, way more.

In brief, the evaluate should revitalise our social gathering and get it again to being the election profitable machine it as soon as was.

The evaluate can be chaired by Patrick McLoughlin, a former transport secretary, chief whip and social gathering chair, and outgoing chair of the Nationwide Conference, Lord Sales space. It’ll current preliminary findings on 2 November, when the brand new chief is being introduced.

In a information launch, the social gathering mentioned the principle themes of the evaluate can be:

1) To find out the explanations for the Conservative social gathering’s long-term efficiency in all nations and areas.

2) To evaluate how the social gathering carried out in opposition to totally different opposition events, and the way that ought to inform our future methods.

3) To analyse how numerous parts of the marketing campaign technique (e.g. voter focusing on, digital, volunteer engagement, communications/messaging) carried out in follow and in comparison with the underlying plan.

4) To evaluate the function of the parliamentary social gathering since 2010, and its impression on elections.

5) To evaluate the motivation, energy and organisation of volunteers and members within the 2024 election.

6) Evaluate the method of composing the manifesto and the impression of insurance policies within the marketing campaign.

7) To make suggestions for change and enchancment in each space of the social gathering – the parliamentary social gathering and different elected representatives, the voluntary social gathering, and the skilled organisation (together with CCHQ).

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Up to date at 11.27 EDT

Because the Telegraph experiences, Tom Tugendhat delivered a jibe at Sue Grey, Keir Starmer’s chief of employees, when talking at a fringe assembly. He mentioned:

To be truthful to Sue, she’s demonstrated that she actually is an neutral civil servant.

I imply, she, in any case, introduced down one prime minister who was a Conservative, and now she’s engaged on bringing down one other one who occurs to be Labour.

I feel she’s demonstrating the form of political steadiness that we anticipate for the civil service, destroying political careers, wherever they might be discovered.

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Conservative MPs really feel aggrieved that voters didn’t acknowledge their progress on attaining good water high quality over the last election.

Rebecca Smith, the brand new MP for South West Devon, mentioned her constituents anticipate rivers and the ocean “to be like a swimming pool at instances” including: “You’ve bought an entire load of customers who need to swim however don’t understand how unhealthy issues have been 20 years in the past.”

And the shadow surroundings minister Robbie Moore mentioned he thinks individuals are offended about sewage air pollution as a result of the surroundings company provides out an excessive amount of knowledge on sewage air pollution. He defined:

The true problem has been as a result of there was a lot campaigning on this explicit problem that any danger that’s highlighted by elevated monitoring is deemed by everyone to instantly be a air pollution incident, and it completely isn’t usually, really.

And subsequently I feel that comes down to creating certain that there’s a readability on what knowledge is being offered, and what’s being put into the general public area, by not solely the water firm, however how regulators, notably the Setting Company, are presenting that knowledge. That was one thing I used to be making an attempt to boost with the Setting Company after I was within the division.

Moore additionally criticised the Labour authorities over the information, first damaged by the Guardian, that ministers plan to chop the farming finances, which pays for cleansing up water, by about £100m a 12 months. He mentioned:

The farming finances is extremely essential, and the rumours of the farming finances being diminished by £100m each year may have enormous detrimental penalties on the quantity of subsidy that is ready to be put into the development measures that we introduced beforehand and have been in a position to put in place as a Conservative authorities.

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Badenoch staff claims ‘selective quotes’ getting used to assault her

Kemi Badenoch’s marketing campaign has claimed her rivals are utilizing “selective quotes” to assault her.

As PA Media experiences, an individual near Badenoch’s marketing campaign mentioned that “infighting and inner conflicts helped take our social gathering to an historic defeat” and accused different candidates of looking for to “rating political hits”.

The supply mentioned:

We should be higher, we want our politics to be higher. Kemi clearly helps maternity pay and was making a case for decrease regulation – one thing she all the time aimed for as enterprise secretary.

For different management campaigns to be looking for to make use of selective quotes from an interview to attain political hits, exhibits they’re nonetheless wedded to the previous politics and easily aren’t severe about getting again to authorities.

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Badenoch’s maternity pay feedback present how ‘hopelessly out of contact’ Tories are, TUC says

Paul Nowak, the TUC common secretary, has issued an announcement saying Kemi Badenoch’s feedback about maternity pay (see 12.21pm) exhibits how “hopelessly out of contact” the Tories are. He mentioned:

The Conservative social gathering management candidates are hopelessly out of contact and appear to be competing with each other to be probably the most unkind and nasty.

Maternity pay within the UK is decrease than in lots of different economies – forcing too many mums again from depart early.

The Tories don’t seem to have any options for this nation. All they’ve left is performative cruelty and division.

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Up to date at 10.23 EDT