Follow all the political developments as more candidates join the race to succeed Boris Johnson as Tory party leader and prime minister
Sajid Javid, who resigned as health secretary five days ago, is on BBC’s Sunday Morning discussing his leadership bid.
He says he didn’t want to give up the “very important” post and denies that his resignation was a move coordinated with former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Continue reading...Union organisation criticises Tory ‘litany of failures on workers’ rights’ five years on from Taylor review
The Trades Union Congress has criticised the Conservative party for “a litany of failures on workers’ rights” as it published analysis showing a rise in insecure jobs in the five years since the government pledged to make work in the UK fairer.
At least 3.7 million people in Britain are in insecure jobs, up from 3.6m in 2021, out of a total workforce of 34 million, according to analysis of government data by the TUC. That compares to 3.2 million in late 2016, before the publication of the Taylor review, a landmark government-backed report on work in the UK.
Continue reading...Former foreign and health secretary attempts to broaden his appeal through alliance with McVey
Jeremy Hunt has said he would make Esther McVey his deputy prime minister if he won the Conservative leadership campaign, as a string of contenders reiterated promises to cut taxes, while being largely vague on how this would be financed.
As a series of the hopefuls toured the TV studios for the Sunday broadcast rounds, Hunt, Grant Shapps, Tom Tugendhat and Sajid Javid all repeated promises to cut taxes, saying this could be funded from efficiencies or growing the economy.
Continue reading...Senior Tories say the former chancellor is the main focus of the ousted leader’s anger as bitter infighting breaks out
Senior Tories accused Boris Johnson of trying to torpedo Rishi Sunak’s bid to succeed him as prime minister – and of refusing to leave No 10 with good grace – as the leadership race descended into bitter infighting.
As a trio of cabinet ministers entered the contest last night, senior MPs said the battle now risked inflicting even more damage on the party than the fall of Margaret Thatcher more than three decades ago.
Continue reading...Cabinet trio add names to increasingly crowded field of candidates to replace Boris Johnson
A trio of cabinet ministers declared they were running for the Tory leadership on Saturday night, amid calls to alter party rules to thin out the increasingly crowded field of candidates.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and transport secretary Grant Shapps all threw their hats into the ring.
Continue reading...String of candidates announced on Saturday including Kemi Badenoch, Liz Truss, Grant Shapps and Nadhim Zahawi
Tory MP Rehman Chishti has confirmed he is “actively considering” running for leader.
The newly appointed Foreign Office minister retweeted quotes attributed to him by the BBC, stating: “We need leaders who best reflect modern Britain and can provide solutions to the challenges our nation is facing now.”
Continue reading...Conservative MPs fear the race to replace Boris Johnson risks becoming a drawn-out, bitter battle
The race to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister was already slipping into acrimony on Saturday as Conservative factions briefed against Rishi Sunak, the early favourite, while one senior MP called for “no hope” candidates to drop out.
With four candidates confirmed, but predictions that up to 15 could put themselves forward as the next Conservative leader, Tory MPs expressed concern at the potential timetable for the race, and the prospect of bitter infighting.
Continue reading...Campaigners warn crucial legislation must not be abandoned while the UK government is distracted
Crucial environment legislation must not be allowed to be sidelined or abandoned amid the distraction of a Tory leadership race, campaigners have warned.
Ministers openly admit they do not know what is going on with much of the legislation, but those who remain in government are working with skeleton teams to get bills in shape to be passed.
Continue reading...Former chancellor says it it time to restore trust, rebuild the economy and reunite the country
More now from the 1922 Committee’s Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who says that while in an “ideal world” deputy PM Dominic Raab would have been made caretaker prime minister after Johnson’s speech yesterday, “that ship has sailed”.
I think in an ideal world, Dominic Raab, as deputy prime minister, should have been the caretaker prime minister, but that ship I think has sailed and we must we must now live with the fact that Boris Johnson will be prime minister until a successor can be voted on.
[Johnson] has said very clearly that he won’t be making any major changes during that period. And I think that is a good thing.
Continue reading...Former chancellor throws his hat into the ring in race to succeed Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak, who resigned as chancellor this week, has formally announced he is standing to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative party leader, joining the race as one of the favourites.
The announcement came in a slickly edited three-minute video posted on Twitter that emphasised the story of his parents, who emigrated to the UK from India.
Continue reading...Analysis: Research indicates party members are over 60, male and white, yet do not like the same candidates
The final decision on the next Tory leader ultimately falls to the party membership, after MPs vote to narrow the candidates down to two.
This means the decision on the identity of Britain’s future prime minister will be voted on by 200,000 people, more or less. And they are not just ordinary members of the public, they are fee-paying members of the party’s grassroots with their own sets of beliefs.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson says all major fiscal decisions will be left to his replacement
Last night Braverman said she would stand in the Tory leadership contest when Boris Johnson goes.
When it was put to her that she did not have enough experience, Braverman did not accept that. She said she had run a government department, the attorney general’s department.
Continue reading...Analysis: Suella Braverman is lone frontbencher to voice leadership plan as Rishi Sunak, Sajid Javid and others hang back
Even before Boris Johnson delivered his ill-tempered exit speech, Conservative MPs’ focus had already switched to who might succeed him – and unlike in 2019, when he had been the prince across the water for months, this time there is no obvious successor.
Rishi Sunak, who walked out of the Treasury on Tuesday within minutes of Sajid Javid quitting, had been widely seen as the frontrunner until a series of missteps, including the botched spring statement.
Continue reading...Outgoing PM confirms no big changes of direction, including about taxation, during race to succeed him
Boris Johnson’s government will not try to implement new policies while the Conservatives choose a new leader, the prime minister has told his cabinet, deepening concerns over paralysis in the aftermath of his resignation announcement.
The prime minister, who has pledged to step aside, said he will not introduce “major changes of direction” including tax decisions over the coming weeks as Tory MPs and party members run an election for his replacement.
Continue reading...A defiant prime minister may try to hold a general election to buy himself more time
Boris Johnson already knew more of his cabinet ministers wanted him gone before he went to face his MPs at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday. Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, and Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, had told him to quit.
But the prime minister was immovable. He pressed on with the day, determined to answer questions three hours later from select committee chairs on the price of grain in the Bosphorus and the merits of road pricing at the liaison committee.
Continue reading...Levelling up secretary fired several hours after urging Boris Johnson to vacate No 10
Michael Gove was sacked by Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening after telling the prime minister to quit earlier in the day.
Allies confirmed the levelling up secretary had been dismissed after a delegation of cabinet ministers told Johnson he should resign.
Continue reading...A number of senior Tory MPs are preparing leadership bids as Johnson’s hold on power weakens
Leadership jostling kicked off among leading Conservative MPs as Boris Johnson clung to power, with departing cabinet ministers Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid the favourites, and Eurosceptic Steve Baker publicly saying he would “reflect seriously on whether to run”.
Baker, a former chair of the European Research Group who was one of the “Spartan” holdouts against Theresa May’s Brexit deal, was the second to go on the record with leadership ambitions, saying it was “accurate” that he was thinking about a bid.
Continue reading...Levelling up secretary had told PM to step down in face-to-face meeting as Simon Hart says it is too late to ‘turn the ship around’
Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Hamish Mackay.
Tory MPs critical of Boris Johnson claim that a majority of their colleagues are now in favour of replacing him.
I think there is a majority in the party that wants to see change.
I personally have lost confidence in the prime minister now and I’m very sorry to say that. I think he does need to go.
We are regarded as rebels. We’re not. Well over half the parliamentary party now now want Boris Johnson to leave office. That means we’re the mainstream …
About a month ago we had the no confidence vote. Since then there’s been a lot of buyer’s remorse from those who backed him and it’s only been one-way traffic. I haven’t heard anybody who voted no confidence in the prime minister has changed their mind since then.
Continue reading...Labour leader says Conservative MPs backing Boris Johnson do not have ‘a shred of integrity’
Keir Starmer has accused Conservative MPs and ministers of complicity in propping up a prime minister with a history of indefensible behaviour, as he both condemned and mocked what he called the “dying spectacle” of Boris Johnson’s political career.
Focusing in particular on Johnson’s decision earlier this year to promote Chris Pincher to be deputy chief whip, despite a known history of sexually predatory behaviour, Starmer said any Tory MPs still backing Johnson did not have “a shred of integrity”.
Continue reading...Former health secretary calls on colleagues to consider following his lead after resigning from cabinet
Sajid Javid has called on cabinet ministers to consider resigning from Boris Johnson’s government to help oust him as prime minister, saying he quit as health secretary after deciding “enough is enough” over issues of truth and credibility.
Giving a damning personal statement in the Commons on Wednesday after his resignation on Tuesday evening, Javid made it plain he believed other ministers should follow suit.
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